Kanye West news - latest: Rapper allegedly wanted to name 2018 Ye album ‘Hitler’

The rapper was let back into his Instagram account weeks after being locked out for posting antisemitic messages

(RELATED) Adidas ends partnership with Kanye West amid antisemitism backlash

Speculation is mounting over whether Kanye West will be welcomed back onto Twitter after Elon Musk - a self-declared “free speech absolutist” - successfully took over the social media platform.

Earlier in the week, a former executive who used to work with West alleged that he had an open “obsession” with Adolf Hitler and used to reminisce about the “great things” he and the Nazi Party did for Germany, CNN reported.

The executive, who spoke with CNN on condition of anonymity, and other sources told the outlet how West, who legally changed his name to Ye, once floated the idea of naming an album after Hitler.

“He would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people,” the individual alleged.

Earlier this week, Ye returned to his reinstated Instagram account after being locked out for sharing antisemitic remarks.

The rapper posted a string of messages name-dropping Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel and 50 Cent, among others.

Key Points

• Kanye West’s Twitter account is reinstated
• Rapper allegedly wanted to name 2018 album ‘Hitler’, report claims
• Instagram lets Kanye West back into account
• Apple Music takes down Essentials Playlist
• Kanye shares new Instagram post about 50 Cent
• Donda Academy closed with immediate effect

[28 October 2022 11:01 · Graeme Massie]

ICYMI: Vogue ‘does not intend’ to work with Kanye West again

ICYMI: Vogue does “not intend” to work with Kanye West again amid multiple controversies surrounding the rapper.

West has dominated headlines in recent weeks after he made antisemitic remarks, and sent models down the catwalk in “White Lives Matter” T-shirts during his Yeezy SZN 9 presentation at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month.

On 21 October, a spokesperson for Vogue told Page Six that neither the fashion publication nor editor-in-chief Anna Wintour intended to work with West going forward.

The Independent has contacted Vogue and West for comment.

Wintour and West have had a longstanding relationship since she first invited him to the annual Met Gala in 2009.

The Independent has the full report below.

[28 October 2022 11:25 · Johanna Chisholm]

NBA player Jaylen Brown defends Donda Academy in series of tweets

NBA player Jaylen Brown struck out in a series of Twitter posts to come to the defence of Kanye West’s Donda Academy, an unaccredited K-8 school run by the rapper that announced to parents on Wednesday night that they’d be closing until September, effective immediately.

The Times first reported about an email that was sent to parents on Wednesday night that disclosed that the private school would remain closed until the fall of 2023.

Brown, who announced earlier this week that he’d be leaving Donda Sports, the agency founded by West, took to Twitter on Thursday to share his feelings about the school’s closure, which he says he had the chance to witness up close.

“A lot of great teachers parents and students are affected by this.. It is easy to speak from the outside looking in I spent time at Donda academy and it is alot better than some public schools in America with a better curriculum high school students were fully accredited,” said the Celtics player, while quote tweeting an article about the California school’s closure.

He added: “Anti-Semitism should be handled with sensitivity and respect, Inequalities /lack of opportunity in our education system should be handled with sensitivity and respect, A school with resources/ opportunity academically and athletically have been taken away abruptly without notice.”

[28 October 2022 12:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Nick Cave calls Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks ‘deeply disappointing'

Nick Cave, while speaking at an event in London on Thursday night, called Kanye West’s recent antisemitic remarks “deeply disappointing” but noted that he still considers the rapper to be “the greatest artist of our generation”.

NME reported that an audience member had asked the Australian singer during a Q & A portion of the evening about how to separate the work of an artist from their controversial aspects of their personal beliefs.

“There’s Kanye at the moment, making antisemitic remarks,” answered the musician at one point. “Kanye, for me, controversially, is, in my opinion, the greatest artist of our generation. I love his music. ‘Yeezus’ and those gospel records… those gospel records are like nothing I’ve ever heard before.

“But for me, for him to pull out these antisemitic tropes, I think it’s, personally, disgraceful. Does this person need to descend from such great heights down to such tedious s*** we’ve heard so much so often? It’s deeply disappointing to me, and for some time it might be difficult for me personally to listen to a Kanye record, but at the same time I value the output more, on some level.”

Before finishing answering the question from the audience member, he added: “Ultimately, I value the output more, and I know that in time I will be able to get over that and just feel free to be able to listen to Kanye’s music again. That he won’t forever be trapped in the worst aspect of his character, and the music that he makes is a journey away from the worst aspect of his character, like all our music is.”

[28 October 2022 12:20 · Johanna Chisholm]

Fans began celebrating the possible return of Kanye West, Trump with Elon at Twitter’s helm

With Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover of Twitter officialised, online commentators who are fans of Kanye West began celebrating his possible return to the social media platform after he was locked out for sharing antisemitic posts earlier this month.

“Imagine how good twitter will be when Trump Kanye West Alex Jones Roger Stone and Nick Fuentes are all back on here,” wrote one Twitter user, keenly aware that the company’s new owner has previously declared himself a “free speech absolutist” and has left many speculating whether he would permit online trolls, such as the former US president, back on to the platform.

USA Singers, a group of self-described resistance singers, joined in on the speculation and tweeted jokingly that, “Elon Musk will probably hire Kanye West to be Head of Public Relations for Twitter.”

[28 October 2022 13:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Law firm Greenberg Traurig moves to sever ties with client Kanye West

Greenberg Traurig, a Florida based law firm that is currently representing Kanye West in two ongoing cases, said in a statement shared with The Financial Times that it is in the process of severing ties with their celebrity client in the wake of his antisemitic remarks.

“We are taking steps in response to the reported remarks in accordance with ethical obligations and court rules,” the firm said, according to FT. “We condemn anti-Semitism and all hate speech or bigotry, which is repugnant to the core values we believe in and live.”

“This firm was founded by individuals who faced discrimination and many of us lost ancestors because of that kind of hate and prejudice,” the company added in its statement, highlighting how its founders - Larry Hoffman, Mel Greenberg, and Robert Traurig - were all Jewish.

[28 October 2022 14:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

ICYMI: Kanye West reportedly dropped by sixth divorce lawyer amid antisemitism controversy

ICYMI: Kanye West has reportedly been dropped by a sixth divorce lawyer in his ongoing divorce proceedings with Kim Kardashian.

West has been dropped by New York divorce attorneys Bernard Clair and Bob Cohen from Cohen Clair Lans Griefer Thorpe and Rottenstreich LLP, according to Page Six.

“The firm is no longer representing Kanye West,” a source told the outlet.

The Independent has contacted West and his former lawyers, Clair and Cohen, for comment.

Meredith Clark has the full report here.

[28 October 2022 15:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Kanye West addresses Adidas fallout in his return to Instagram: ‘I lost $2bn in one day’

ICYMI: Kanye West has returned to Instagram to address the significant decrease in his fortune - according to Forbes, from $2bn to $400m - after Adidas and other brands cut ties with the rapper over his antisemitic remarks.

On Thursday, the rapper returned to his newly reinstated Instagram, which was banned after a series of antisemitic remarks, to reflect on the news that he “lost $2bn in one day” in the fallout over his comments.

In the post, which was addressed to Ari Emmanuel, the CEO of entertainment and media agency Endeavor, and captioned: “Love speech,” West wrote: “Ari Emmanuel. I lost $2bn in one day and I’m still alive. This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you.”

Read the full report from Chelsea Ritschel here.

[28 October 2022 16:00 · Megan Sheets]

Fans shame Charlamagne’s comments about Kanye West: ‘How can you say such a thing about Kanye?'

Charlamagne tha God, host of the morning radio program The Breakfast Club, is facing heat for recent comments he made about Kanye West on his podcast this week.

On Thursday night’s episode of The Brilliant Idiots, the famed radio personality discussed the rapper with his co-host, Andrew Schulz, and claimed that “he’s moving like a person who doesn’t feel like he’s gonna be here much longer.”

The two hosts had begun by discussing how frequently the 45-year-old artist invokes God, with Shulz first suggesting that it seems to be the only relationship he has these days.

“He need to start really leaning into God, cause nothing he’s doing is of God. Nothing I’ve seen him do is of God,” said Charlamagne in response.

“I hope that this is what helps him to go find some real healing because clearly he’s hurting. Right? And I just — I don’t see this ending well. I feel like he’s moving like a person who doesn’t feel like he’s gonna be here much longer. You know what I mean?” added the radio personality.

Those comments have since drawn intense backlash from online observers.

“That @cthagod talk about Kanye saying he won’t be around any longer is not it. For someone who have advocated for mental health. That’s not something you should wish on someone,” tweeted one observer, while another wrote: “#Charlamagne how can you say such a thing about #Kanye?”

One person online noticed that NBA player Kevin Durant seemed to wade into the matter, commenting on an Instagram post that had shared a clip of Charlamagne’s remarks that, “That’s a nasty convo these men are having.”

[28 October 2022 16:56 · Megan Sheets]

Mixed reactions to confusion over status of Kanye West’s Twitter account

Confusion over the status of Kanye West’s Twitter account - with unverified reports suggesting he may have been reinstated - led to a near equal chorus of celebration (via fans, free speech activists and far-right agitators) and condemnation (via everyone else).

“Elon’s first move on his first day is to bring Kanye West back. Is Twitter‘s new motto ‘making antisemitism great again’?” observed one Twitter user, while another in their camp tweeted: “Twitter: Under New and Anti-Semitic Management.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group of Jewish Federations across Canada, had a more ominous warning about the reports that the previously locked-out rapper might be back on the social media platform.

“We are deeply concerned by this development. If social media platforms are not interested in fighting online antisemitism & racism, government needs to step in with legislation. We cannot continue to allow antisemitism to be given a platform,” the group tweeted.

On the other side of the spectrum, comments were far more enthusiastic about the 45-year-old’s potential return to the microblogging site.

“It’s happening folks! @kanyewest is back on TWITTER!!!” tweeted Lavern Spicer, a Republican who ran for election to the US House to represent Florida’s 24th Congressional District and lost this past summer

Others took his possible return as a positive sign that the former US President, Donald Trump, could also be returning to his once preferred social media platform of choice.

Tweets like, “Waiting for our Trumpooo..” and “please announce Kanye West and Donald Trump as Co CEOs of Twitter !” quickly began circulating as the news broke that the Donda artist was potentially returning to the microblogging site.

[28 October 2022 18:05 · Johanna Chisholm]

ICYMI: Kanye West returns to Instagram after ban despite nearly a dozen brands dropping him over antisemitism

Kanye West returned to Instagram after a ban from the platform and a flurry of brands breaking partnerships with the rapper over the antisemitic remarks he posted earlier this month.

Late Wednesday night, West, who legally changed his name to Ye, posted again on his Instagram. He’d been blocked from doing so for weeks since the social media platform and Twitter locked him out of his accounts for sharing separate antisemitic posts that broke with each company’s terms of service.

In an Instagram story and accompanying post shared on 26 October, West seemed to address the recent fallout with Adidas and Gap, two of the larger commercial partners who have terminated their business relationship with him in recent weeks.

West shared a purported screenshot of a text conversation with “Quinn Emmanuel,” likely referring to the attorneys from Quinn Emanuel and Stradley Ronon who have previously worked for West on his partnership with Gap.

“As to adidas, you can start to make new designs for footwear, apparel and accessories immediately,” the text read. “As to Gap, the non-compete expires December, 15 2022.”

Johanna Chisholm has the details below.