Billionaire Elon Musk was dragged for a tweet he wrote in mid-October just before acquiring Twitter saying rapper and designer Ye "took to heart" his "concerns" over an antisemitic tweet Ye had written.
But Ye—who recently announced a 2024 presidential bid on the Republican ticket—has only doubled down on his antisemitism these last few weeks and is making headlines again, this time for embracing German Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler during an appearance on the conspiracy theory website Infowars.
Ye appeared even to shock host Alex Jones when, in response to Jones' objection to people calling Ye a "Nazi," Ye declared there were "good things about Hitler," who orchestrated the systematic genocide of more than 11 million people including over six million Jews and millions of Romani, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and critics of the Nazi regime.
\u201c\u201cWell, I see good things about Hitler also.\u201d -Ye\u201d— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1669916437
Ye said:
“Well, I see good things about Hitler also. I love everyone."
"Jewish people are not going to tell me you can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography."
"But this guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that.”
When Jones expressed his disapproval, Ye interjected, saying:
"I like Hitler."
Ye's remarks mark his latest controversy amid a series of high-profile scandals related to his antisemitism, which has only reflected badly on Musk, who in October said he expressed his "concerns" to Ye after Ye was locked out of Twitter for posting an antisemitic tweet.
You can see Musk's thoroughly ironic tweet below.
\u201cAbsolutely\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1669932715
The tweet strikes a considerable chord given Ye's praise for Hitler came just after he stormed out of an interview with far-right YouTuber Tim Pool after receiving slight pushback against his antisemitism.
That incident came mere days after he was crititicized for accompanying White nationalist Nick Fuentes—his fellow Infowars guest—to a highly controversial meeting with former Republican President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
It stings even more now that Musk has confirmed he suspended Ye's Twitter account after Ye tweeted a swastika, which is widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis.
Hardly anyone was surprised Musk's tweet had aged so horribly.
Many even compared him to Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, who voted to confirm Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court—all the while insisting he would not undermine Roe v. Wade—despite Kavanaugh's history of hardline conservative jurisprudence and concerns over what that could mean for reproductive rights.
\u201cWho is going to tell him?\u201d— Nick Cargola (@Nick Cargola) 1669954900
\u201cLooks like Elon Musk and Susan Collins have more in common than just going to the same gym.\u201d— \ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd59\ud835\udd56 \u2119\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd69\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd5d \u2119\ud835\udd66\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd55\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd65\u2b50 (@\ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd59\ud835\udd56 \u2119\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd69\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd5d \u2119\ud835\udd66\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd55\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd65\u2b50) 1669944978
\u201cSee. Everyone knows content moderation is important. \ud83d\ude01\u201d— Jeff Spalding (@Jeff Spalding) 1669945738
\u201cOh, no! The Susan Collins is strong with this one. Is Elon also "disturbed?"\u201d— Steve Bannon's Mullet (@Steve Bannon's Mullet) 1669954697
\u201cHaha you sound a lot like Susan Collins @elonmusk\u201d— Yo Doug (@Yo Doug) 1669944942
\u201c\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23Like Susan Collins once said, I think he learned his lesson.\u201d— virgil goslin (@virgil goslin) 1669943182
\u201cIs Elon Musk saying that Ye has learned his lesson?\u201d— John 'Eric' Taylor \ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@John 'Eric' Taylor \ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1669939108
\u201cYep, that seems to have gone well Elon.\u201d— TonyCross (@TonyCross) 1669939837
\u201cThanks for straightening that out.\u201d— Tim Hildebrandt (@Tim Hildebrandt) 1669943181
Ye received backlash after White Lives Matter shirts—including ones worn by Ye and Candace Owens—were unveiled during his YZY Paris Fashion Week show. As a result, Ye went on several misogynoir and antisemitic rants and was accused of anti-Blackness by community activists.
Instagram locked Ye out of his account after he posted an antisemitic conspiracy theory in screenshots of text messages with Sean "Diddy" Combs.
In response, Ye returned to Twitter after a long hiatus to accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of personally locking him out of his account after Instagram announced it locked him out for posts that violated its policies. Ye also tweeted he'd go "death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE," prompting media attention and further accusations of antisemitism.
He returned to Instagram in late October, shortly after he was escorted out of the Sketchers headquarters to announce he'd lost $2 billion in one day.
Adidas announced it was ending its $1.5 billion deal with Ye. Additionally, TJX Companies—which owns department stores and TJ Maxx—and Gap said they would no longer sell Ye's apparel.
The losses were significant enough Forbes reported Ye had been knocked off Forbes' billionaires list.
Undeterred, Ye continued to make headlines for sharing antisemitic content.
Eventually it became too much for even "absolute free speech" crusader Musk and Ye's Twitter account was suspended.
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