Ever since October 7, 2023, anti-Semitism has been on the rise, and with celebrities and important figures constantly spewing hate, it has become the “norm,” influencing many people. One of these celebrities is Ye(formerly Kanye), who has a long history of being anti-semitic, but now, with this new normal, people seem more inclined to ignore, or even support, Ye’s hate speech.
His most recent barrage of anti-semitic tweets started on February 7th, where Ye went on an anti-Semitic rant (and for some reason also said, “Free Diddy”). Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, he tweeted even more hate, writing “Kendrick is being used by these white people and Jews and so am I”. As if Ye’s tirades weren’t enough, he also invested millions of dollars to produce a superbowl advertisement in order to bring his messages of antisemitism to even more people.As a result, many were very frustrated when they realized that Ye had an ad, though it only aired Los Angeles and three other local markets. The ad featured him in a dentist’s chair promoting his website. The entire commercial was him explaining he used the money for a commercial for his new teeth, and after a long pause, said, “Go to Yeezy.com”. But, if you went to this website, you wouldn’t find his normal merchandise. Right after the ad aired, Ye updated the website, changing it to list just one item—a white t-shirt with a swastika on it. It was labeled “HH-01,” which stands for “Heil Hitler.”
The major issue with Ye being anti-Semitic is actually not about Ye himself. He has had mental health struggles for a while, which absolutely does not excuse this behavior, but it provides some context. The problem is that Ye has double the number of followers on Twitter as there are Jewish people in the world, as well as the millions of likes and shares these tweets receive. What is also concerning is the world’s reaction, which can be blamed on people excusing this as mental illness or the fact that anti-Semitism has become normalized.
The aftermath of this incident has been underwhelming. Shopify, which over 2 million companies sell through, including Ye’s, didn’t remove the website until Tuesday. “This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify,” the company said in a statement. However, in an internal staff announcement obtained by The Logic, Shopify’s general counsel said the company took down Ye West’s online store because of the potential for fraud, not because it was selling a Nazi t-shirt. In the message, general counsel Jess Hertz said the swastika t-shirt listed for sale by Ye was “a stunt” and “not a good faith attempt to make money.” This, Hertz said, “brought with it the real risk of fraud.” In the internal announcement, she stated that Ye’s Nazi t-shirt was “vile, disgusting, and inexcusable” and that “everyone agrees with that.” However, that didn’t affect Shopify’s decision to delete Ye’s online store, because “opinion doesn’t factor in here,” she said. “What matters is our terms of service.”
Beyond Shopify, an NFL spokesperson said, “The NFL had no awareness of the ad buy or the spot until after it ran in select local markets,” and, “The NFL strongly condemns any form of anti-Semitism.” Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy wrote, “We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of anti-Semitism.” He highlighted Fox’s support of organizations such as the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, the United Jewish Appeal Federation, and others, stating that Fox “will continue to work with them in combating anti-Semitism.”
This behavior is absolutely unacceptable and, unfortunately, is not criticized as much as it needs to be. While Ye deactivated his X account later Sunday night, nothing is stopping him, or anyone, from doing this again. Anti-Semitism needs to stop, and it takes everyone.
