Twitter suspended American rapper Kanye West’s account on Friday for “inciting violence,” after the publication of an image representing a swastika intertwined with a star of David and admiring words for Hitler.
“Just to clarify that his account has been suspended for inciting violence,” said social media boss Elon Musk, in response to the image combining symbols of the Nazi regime and Judaism posted by the rapper, increasingly isolated after his recent anti-Semitic remarks.
Owner and head of the platform since October, Elon Musk has so far advocated an absolute view of freedom of expression.
During a ubiquitous appearance on the show “Infowars,” hosted by conspiratorial host Alex Jones, the American rapper, who now goes by the name Ye and wore a black balaclava that covered his entire face, embarked on a tirade on Thursday about sin, pornography and the devil.
“I love Hitler”, the star had launched several times, unleashing a flood of condemnations on social media.
«You’ve gone too far”
And a few hours later, the Twitter boss announced his suspension from the social network after an exchange between the two men that the rapper then made public.
“Sorry but you went too far, it’s not love,” wrote the Twitter boss in a private message. West responded by challenging Elon Musk: “who made you a judge”?
The rapper also shared a photo of a shirtless Elon Musk being dunked in water, with the caption, “Always remember this as my last tweet.”
Even before this suspension and due to several anti-Semitic comments, many brands had cut ties with Kanye West in recent weeks, in particular the sports equipment manufacturer Adidas, the ready-to-wear chain Gap and the Balenciaga fashion house.
Parler’s parent company, Parliament Technologies, for its part announced it would opt out of being taken over by the rap giant. A decision “made in mid-November” secured the company leadership of this social network, very popular among ultra-conservatives for its defense of almost unlimited freedom of expression.
Kanye West initially announced his desire to buy Parler, after recent anti-Semitic comments made him persona non grata in the business world and earned him a deletion from his Instagram and Twitter posts.
«I love Nazis”
On the set of “Infowars” Thursday, the 45-year-old rapper, who says he suffers from bipolar disorder and who recently hinted that he could run for president of the United States in 2024, doubled down on his taunt.
“I see good things about Hitler too,” he said. “This guy (…) invented the highways, he invented the microphone that he uses as a musician. You can’t say publicly that this person did something right, and I’m sick of it.”
“I’m sick of labels, every human being has brought something of value, especially Hitler,” he insisted, prompting a shocked laugh from his host, far-right conspirator Alex Jones.
“The Nazis were thugs and they did very bad things,” tried to correct Mr. Jones, recently sentenced to pay nearly a billion dollars for denying the reality of a school murder.
“But they’ve done good things too,” the rapper retorted. “We have to stop insulting the Nazis all the time. (…) I love the Nazis.
In recent weeks, several members of his former professional entourage had denounced Kanye West’s fascination for Hitler to the American media.
This new rapper scandal prompted the Republican Jewish Coalition to directly challenge his political friends on Thursday.
Close to the “Grand Old Party,” the organization, which recently hosted many Republican Party figures in Las Vegas, denounced Kanye West as a “loathsome bigot who has targeted the Jewish community with threats and vilification worthy of the Nazis.
“Conservatives who made the mistake of tolerating Kanye West need to be clear that he’s an outcast,” she added.
