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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Sam Levine in New York

Kanye West’s Instagram and Twitter accounts locked over antisemitic posts

Kanye West attends the Paris fashion week, in Paris, on 2 October.
Kanye West attends the Paris fashion week, in Paris, on 2 October. Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

Kanye West has now had both his Instagram and Twitter accounts locked after antisemitic posts over the weekend.

Twitter locked his account on Sunday after it removed one of West’s tweets saying he was going “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” because it violated the service’s policies against hate speech.

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” he tweeted on Saturday in a series of messages. The tweet has since been removed and West’s account locked.

“The account in question has been locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies,” a spokesperson for the platform told BuzzFeed News.

The social media company Meta also restricted West’s Instagram account after the rapper made an antisemitic post on Friday in which he appeared to suggest the rapper Diddy was controlled by Jewish people, an antisemitic trope, NBC News reported.

The controversial rapper who legally changed his name to Ye recently drew heavy criticism for donning a “white lives matter” T-shirt during Paris fashion week. He also dressed models in the shirt containing the phrase that the Anti-Defamation League considers a “hate slogan”.

The league, which monitors violent extremists, notes on its website that white supremacist groups have promoted the phrase.

West told Fox News host Tucker Carlson he thought the shirt was “funny” and “the obvious thing to do”.

“I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt; I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny,’” he told Carlson. “And I said, ‘Dad, why did you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious.’”

During the same interview, West told Carlson that Jared Kushner, the Jewish son-in-law of former president Donald Trump, negotiated Middle East peace deals “to make money”.

West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago and has spoken publicly about his mental health challenges.

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