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Tag: kanye west

  • Kanye West to acquire conservative social media platform Parler | CNN Business

    Kanye West to acquire conservative social media platform Parler | CNN Business

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    CNN Business
     — 

    Kanye West is acquiring Parler, the alternative social media platform favored by many conservatives.

    Parler’s parent company announced the deal on Monday morning, saying West had made “a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.”

    The acquisition comes after West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, had his account temporarily locked by Twitter this month over an antisemitic tweet.

    Exact terms of the Parler deal weren’t disclosed, though Parler said it must still enter into a definitive agreement with West and expects to close in the fourth quarter. Parler’s parent, Parlement Technologies, would remain involved by providing technical services and cloud support.

    Buying Parler could make West the latest celebrity owner of a social media platform after former President Donald Trump’s bid to win over conservatives with Truth Social and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposed acquisition of Twitter. It also highlights how a small group of wealthy men, some of whom were banned or suspended themselves for incendiary remarks, are looking to own social media platforms in an effort to bolster what they call “free speech.”

    “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” West said in a release by Parler.

    As part of the announcement, Parler linked to West’s account on the platform, which appeared to have launched simultaneously. As of early Monday, the account had roughly 500 followers.

    For Ye, the deal comes during a particularly controversial period. West has made headlines in recent weeks for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt in public and defending his use of the slogan — a phrase the Anti-Defamation League has linked to white supremacy groups — as “funny” to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. After the shirt incident, the apparel company Adidas this month said it was reviewing its partnership with West. In September, West also said he was abandoning a two-year partnership with the clothing retailer Gap.

    Speaking on CNN Monday, Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s CEO, called Parler a “haven” of hate.

    Parler was founded in 2018 and saw rapid growth surrounding the 2020 election. Billing itself as a loosely moderated free-speech haven, the app became popular with conservative politicians and media figures, peaking at an estimated 2.9 million daily users, according to the market research firm Apptopia. But since then, its fortunes have dimmed, with Parler’s estimated daily user count slipping to just 40,000, Apptopia told CNN on Monday. (Twitter, by comparison, has more than 237 million daily active users.)

    In the weeks following the Jan. 6 riots, Parler was removed from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for what the companies said was a failure to adequately moderate violent rhetoric on the platform. Documents provided to the House committee investigating the Capitol riots have shown how the Secret Service was aware of posts on Parler that suggested the possibility of violence surrounding that day. Separately, Parler has written to Congress claiming that lawmakers’ interest in the app’s role in the riots has been intended to “scapegoat” the app.

    Parler has since been restored to both app stores after making changes to its content moderation practices.

    Parler has faced more competition in recent months as the burgeoning right-wing digital media ecosystem has expanded. Truth Social launched in February on Apple’s app store, and was approved for Google’s app store on Oct. 13. Truth Social saw a spike of downloads last week due to its appearance on the Google Play Store, Apptopia said, and before then had been hovering at 144,000 daily active users.

    Musk’s move to buy Twitter, if the deal goes through, also has the potential to upend Parler and similar services. Musk has repeatedly called for eliminating permanent bans and rethinking Twitter’s approach to content moderation, which could once again make the much larger platform a home for some of the users who jumped to small services like Parler.

    It could also effectively mean that Musk and Ye, who are said to be friends, are now competing with each other. After Ye’s antisemitic tweet sparked an outcry, Musk tweeted: “Talked to ye today & expressed my concerns about his recent tweet, which I think he took to heart.”

    One week later, Ye’s deal to buy Parler was announced.

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  • Kanye West to buy conservative social media app Parler – National | Globalnews.ca

    Kanye West to buy conservative social media app Parler – National | Globalnews.ca

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    Kanye West (now known as Ye) has agreed to purchase the controversial, conservative social networking site Parler.

    Parler, which advertises itself as “the premier global free speech platform,” announced the acquisition on Monday morning. The app is often viewed by its predominately right-wing users as an alternative to existing social media options like Twitter or Facebook.

    Read more:

    Kanye West defends ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirt, calls Black Lives Matter a ‘scam’

    Parler’s parent company, Parlement Technologies, wrote in a statement, “The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.”

    Last year, Parler was forced offline after major service providers accused the app of failing to police violent content related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by followers of then-U.S. president Donald Trump. It launched its new platform in Feb. 2021 with “sustainable, independent technology.”

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    Click to play video: 'Kanye West pays tribute to designer Virgil Abloh with choral performance'


    Kanye West pays tribute to designer Virgil Abloh with choral performance




    Parlement Technologies did not disclose the amount to be paid by Ye. However, as part of the agreement in principle, Parler staff will continue to provide technical support for the app, such as private cloud services.

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    “Ye has become the richest Black man in history through music and apparel and is taking a bold stance against his recent censorship from Big Tech, using his far-reaching talents to further lead the fight to create a truly non-cancelable environment,” the Parlement Technologies statement reads.

    In early October, Ye, 45, was restricted from posting on Instagram and Twitter following several erratic, antisemitic comments.

    The rapper turned fashion designer tweeted that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” (A reference to the defence readiness condition — DEFCON — used by the United States Armed Forces.)

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    Ye also posted text screenshots between him and Sean “Diddy” Combs to Instagram with the caption “Jesus is Jew.”

    In the since-deleted post, Ye accused Combs of being controlled by Jewish people. The conversation between Ye and Combs was spurred by the recent release of Ye’s highly controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirts as part of his Yeezy Season 9 event at Paris Fashion Week.


    Kanye West and Candace Owens wearing ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts at the Yeezy Season 9 event at Paris Fashion Week.

    Twitter / Candace Owens

    Read more:

    Kanye West sued by pastor claiming ‘Donda’ song sampled his sermon

    “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” Ye said in the Parlement Technologies statement.

    In the statement, Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said, “Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.”

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    “Once again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative,” Farmer said.

    The purchase agreement is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.

    — With files from Reuters 

    &copy 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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    Sarah Do Couto

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  • Kanye West canceled? Here’s why it probably won’t happen | CNN

    Kanye West canceled? Here’s why it probably won’t happen | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Kanye West has had so many controversies you may have forgotten a few.

    From his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to his early embrace of former President Trump and his “Make America Great Again” agenda, the artist, designer and entrepreneur is, perhaps, best known for being a provocateur.

    The latest calls to cancel West, who legally changed his name to Ye, may be the most intense yet.

    After he wore and featured “White Lives Matter” (The Anti-Defamation League categorizes the phrase as a “hate slogan” used by White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan) apparel in his recent Paris fashion show, there was new outcry against West.

    “Kanye’s actions are just so dangerous and irresponsible. I don’t care how great his music is, we have to stop supporting someone who uses their platform so irresponsibly,” TV host, professor and former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill posted on social media.

    Another lightening rod came earlier this week, when West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted for violating policies following posts that were criticized as antisemitic. Days later, it was announced that his episode of the YouTube series “The Shop: Uninterrupted” would not release because he used his appearance “to reiterate more hate speech and very ugly stereotypes.”

    This has led some to suggest that West’s career has crashed and burned and there’s no coming back from it all. But here’s why that’s not necessarily the case:

    For all the talk of “cancel culture,” we now live in an era where bad behavior, especially by public figures, garners all of the outrage – until it doesn’t.

    Not only do we live in a society that moves fairly quickly from scandal to scandal, racism and cruelty to others no longer live in the shadows.

    So while plenty of people have condemned West for his actions and comments, there are many who support both because they agree with him.

    Then there is the fame factor.

    Star power has only increased in recent years, especially because social media fosters a sense of intimacy between artists and their followers.

    “West’s celebrity status has kept us watching and listening mostly because we’re keenly aware that so many others are also paying attention,” Washington Post senior critic-at-large Robin Givhan recently wrote.

    “And each time he says something indecipherable or cruel, we recoil as if we are shocked anew, as if he has not been terrible before,” she continued. “We respond as if we believe that fame is a preventive to terrible behavior, that those who know they’re being watched will aim to be on their best behavior rather than using all that attention as an enticement to acting out.”

    West has been very clear about his admiration for Trump, and the two men do seem to share an approach to communication.

    West recently said in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he “started to really feel this need to express myself on another level when Trump was running for office and I liked him.”

    West said he was warned against supporting Trump, telling Carlson people told him “my career would be over, my life would be over.”

    Instead, West earned new fans from some of the same people who also support the former president.

    After conservative author and ACT! for America founder Brigitte Gabriel tweeted her support for West, one of her followers responded, “I used to judge him quite harshly. I’m finding new respect for him now.”

    It’s long been debated whether one can embrace the art without supporting the artist. West has a history of coming out on the winning side of that question.

    There were calls to boycott West in 2018 after comments he made about the history of slavery in the United States.

    “When you hear about slavery for 400 years,” West said during an interview with TMZ. “For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”

    Yet, a month later, all seven tracks on his “Ye” album debuted on Billboard’s Top 40 chart.

    There have been several other controversies since that have not stopped West from achieving mass success with his fashion and sneaker lines.

    And while West terminated his relationship with the Gap in September, and Adidas has put their partnership with him under review, he entered the public consciousness nearly two decades ago through music that people will likely continue to return to.

    The first words West speaks on his first hit, “Through the Wire,” in retrospect, may have been prescient: “They can’t stop me from rapping can they?”

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  • Ye and JPMorgan Chase ending their banking relationship

    Ye and JPMorgan Chase ending their banking relationship

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    JPMorgan Chase and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West are ending their business relationship, but the breakup is not a result of the controversy over the hip-hop star’s recent antisemitic comments.

    The letter ending West’s relationship with JPMorgan was tweeted Wednesday by conservative activist Candace Owens, who has been seen publicly at events with the rapper, who is now legally known as Ye.

    While Owens claimed that JPMorgan did not disclose the reason for severing ties, the letter was sent to West on Sept. 20, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak about it publicly. The decision was made after Ye publicly said he was going to cut off ties with the bank. JPMorgan is giving West 60 days from the date of the letter to find a new banking relationship.

    Earlier this month, Ye and Owens drew attention after the pair attended a Paris fashion show while wearing shirts with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on the back. The phrase has been adopted and promoted by white supremacist groups and sympathizers, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

    Social media companies Twitter and Instagram have blocked Ye’s accounts from posting in recent days due to his antisemitic comments, saying the remarks violated company policy. 

    West told Bloomberg News on Sept. 12 that he planned on cutting many of his corporate ties, saying that “It’s time for me to go it alone.” In that interview, he also criticized JPMorgan for not giving him access to Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO and chairman.

    While Ye is wealthy from his hip-hop career, he also controls a popular fashion and shoe line under Yeezy Brands. In that interview with Bloomberg, he said he also planned to cut relationships with his corporate suppliers as well.

    In September, West prematurely severed his shoe and clothing deal with Gap, claiming that the retailer hadn’ met certain contractual obligations. Ye and the retailer in 2020 struck what was expected to be a 10-year deal under which he designed Yeezy-branded merchandise to be sold in Gap stores.

    In 2021, Bloomberg ranked him as the wealthiest Black American, pegging his net worth at $6 billion. Between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion of that net worth comes from West’s partnerships with Gap and Adidas, according to investment bank UBS. 

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  • Why Kanye West And Other Free Speech Advocates Need Bitcoin

    Why Kanye West And Other Free Speech Advocates Need Bitcoin

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    The below is a direct excerpt of Marty’s Bent Issue #1272: “De-banking as an attack on speech.” Sign up for the newsletter here.

    On October 12, Candace Owens made the world aware of the fact that Ye West, more commonly known as Kanye West, had his corporate bank account shut down by JPMorgan Chase. This move is seemingly a reaction to comments Ye made over the weekend on social media. I have to concur with what Owens says in the second tweet above. I do not care what you think about Ye, but I do care about what you think of one of the largest banks in the world abruptly rug-pulling his multibillion-dollar company’s bank account.

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    Marty Bent

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  • LeBron James’ show “The Shop” will not air Kanye West episode, citing “hate speech”

    LeBron James’ show “The Shop” will not air Kanye West episode, citing “hate speech”

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    “The Shop,” a talk show starring LeBron James, will not air an episode taped with Kanye West, after the rapper made several anti-Semitic and offensive comments on social media in recent days.

    The show, which previously aired on HBO, now airs on YouTube. It is produced by James’ SpringHill entertainment and production company, which is run by CEO Maverick Carter, who also stars on the show. 

    “Yesterday we taped an episode of ‘The Shop’ with Kanye West,” Carter said in a statement to CBS News on Thursday. “Kanye was booked weeks ago and, after talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments.”

    “Unfortunately, he used ‘The Shop’ to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes,” Carter said, adding that they decided “not to air this episode or any of Kanye’s remarks.”

    West, who has changed his name to Ye, has not publicly commented on the decision. CBS News has reached out to representatives for West.

    Earlier this week, West tweeted a threat that he would go “death [sic] con 3” on Jewish people. He was promptly locked out of his account “due to a violation of Twitter’s policies,” according to Twitter, although the company did not specify.

    West was also restricted from Instagram, after posting a screenshot of a text exchange with Sean “Diddy” Combs in which he suggested Combs was being controlled by Jews.

    The rapper received widespread backlash for those posts and others. He also wore a controversial “White Lives Matter” shirt at his Paris fashion show earlier this month. The phrase “White Lives Matter” emerged as “a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement” in 2015, and has been adopted and promoted by white supremacist groups and sympathizers, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

    “While The Shop embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions, we have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate,” Carter said in his statement. “I take full responsibility for believing Kanye wanted a different conversation and apologize to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”

    The format of “The Shop” is a casual talkshow, meant to mimic the discussions that occur in barbershops. Each episode featurs a group of guests who have a moderated discussion, often featuring James and Carter. James was not at the taping for the West episode.

    Caitlin O’Kane


    caitlin-okane.jpg

    Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.

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  • Stephen Colbert Trolls Fox News Over An All-Time Embarrassing Moment

    Stephen Colbert Trolls Fox News Over An All-Time Embarrassing Moment

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    Stephen Colbert spotted a truly uncomfortable moment on Fox News over the weekend as the right-wing network’s hosts defended Kanye West then had to furiously backtrack.

    Fox News has been pumping up West, who changed his name to Ye in 2021, since his interview last week with Tucker Carlson. Then, the rapper posted on social media that he would be “going death con 3” on Jewish people.

    As Colbert noted, the hosts of “Fox & Friends” on Sunday defended West after those posts, claiming he was the “target of big tech because he’s too dangerous and too outspoken and too much of a free thinker.”

    Then they actually read West’s posts.

    “Let’s say I hope they didn’t pull a hammy backpedaling this fast,” Colbert said, as he played comments of the hosts rapidly distancing themselves from West.

    But Colbert wouldn’t let them.

    “Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,” he said wagging a finger. “Kanye is your free-thinker! You threw a pity party and invited a guy who always poops in the punch bowl. Now, you’ve gotta drink it. L’chaim!”

    Check it out in his Monday night monologue:

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  • Kanye West’s Twitter account locked for anti-Semitic tweet | CNN

    Kanye West’s Twitter account locked for anti-Semitic tweet | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Twitter locked rapper Kanye West’s Twitter account over an anti-Semitic tweet posted on the account on Saturday.

    In the since-removed tweet, West said he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and also that, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” without specifying what group he was addressing, according to internet archive records pulled by CNN.

    A spokesperson from Twitter confirmed to CNN that the account was locked for violating Twitter’s policies. The tweet has been replaced on the account by a message from the company saying, “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”

    The spokesperson did not say which policy was violated but instead sent a link to Twitter’s rules, which include guidelines against hateful conduct.

    Twitter would not say how long the account would be locked or when the user would be able to tweet again.

    On Friday, West’s Instagram account was restricted for violating the company’s policies, a Meta spokesperson told CNN.

    In a tweet, the Anti-Defamation League said, “Power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are antisemitic tropes that we break down in our #AntisemitismUncovered Guide at antisemitism.adl.org. Many of these myths have influenced @KanyeWest’s comments recently, and it’s dangerous.”

    CNN has been unable to reach a representative for West for comment.

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  • Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts restricted following antisemitic posts

    Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts restricted following antisemitic posts

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    Rapper Ye — also known by his given name, Kanye West — has been locked out of his Twitter account “due to a violation of Twitter’s policies,” the social media platform told CBS News in a statement. 

    Twitter did not specify which policies had been broken, but the action came not long after West on Saturday night posted an antisemitic tweet in which he threatened to go “death [sic] con 3” on Jewish people.

    In the tweet — which has since been removed — West also wrote, “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also.”

    The move comes shortly after West’s Instagram account was similarly restricted by the platform’s parent company, Meta, after West posted screenshots of an alleged conversation with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in which West suggested Combs was being controlled by Jews. 

    “Ima [sic] use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me,” West wrote. Instagram has since deleted the post. 

    Prior to Saturday, West had not tweeted since November 2020. After a tweet criticizing Mark Zuckerberg over his suspension from Instagram, West was welcomed back to Twitter by billionaire Elon Musk, who has been embroiled in litigation around the purchase of the platform for several months.

    West was previously suspended by Instagram for 24 hours in March for directing a racial slur at “The Daily Show” host, Trevor Noah.

    West’s posts have garnered public outcry from the American Jewish Committee, which denounced the language as “anti-Jewish” and “dangerous.” The AJC also referenced an interview West did on Tucker Carlson’s show last Thursday, in which the rapper accused former Trump senior advisor and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is Jewish, of brokering the Abraham Accords to “make money.”  

    Last week, West also came under fire for debuting “White Lives Matter” shirts at Paris Fashion Week, which Combs later criticized, leading to the alleged texts West posted on Instagram. West was photographed in the shirt alongside conservative commentator Candace Owens.

    Hannah Gais, senior research analyst at Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, said in a statement to CBS News that both West and Owens “have a proclivity for high-profile stunts designed to troll liberals,” and that their “use of rhetoric popular among some on the racist fringe goes to show that these slogans can become normalized and part of the broader right-wing vernacular through repetition.”

    The phrase “White Lives Matter” emerged as “a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement” in 2015, and has been adopted and promoted by white supremacist groups and sympathizers, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

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  • Kanye West Tweet About Going ‘Death Con 3 On Jewish People’ Removed By Twitter

    Kanye West Tweet About Going ‘Death Con 3 On Jewish People’ Removed By Twitter

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    Kanye West’s return to Twitter might be short-lived after the company removed an alarming tweet from the rapper’s account for violating its policies.

    Hours after Meta deleted antisemitic content from West’s Instagram page and placed a restriction on his account, Twitter took down a post from the musician and fashion designer that said he was “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” He appears to be referring to the U.S. armed forces defense readiness condition DEFCON 3.

    “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” West wrote on Saturday night. “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.”

    The tweet no longer appears on West’s account with a notice from Twitter reading that the post “violated the Twitter Rules.”

    However, other concerning tweets from West’s weekend Twitter spree remain on his page.

    The “Donda” rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, returned to Twitter Friday after nearly two years.

    West had been incessantly posting on Instagram since sparking controversy over the “White Lives Matter” T-shirts he displayed during a Paris show for his Yeezy fashion line, which has drawn fierce criticism within the fashion industry and beyond.

    Meta, Instagram’s parent company, restricted his account after West shared screenshots of an alleged text conversation with Sean Combs on Friday, in which he insinuated that the rapper was being controlled by Jewish people alongside the caption “Jesus is Jew.”

    Instagram deleted the post from West’s page and placed a restriction on the account. A Meta spokesperson said West violated its rules and guidelines, but did not specify which content was specifically removed or how long he would not be able to post on the platform, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Upon his return to Twitter, West took aim at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the actions taken with his account, writing, “Look at this Mark… How you gone kick me off instagram” alongside a photo of the two appearing to sing together.

    He received a warm welcome on Twitter from the company’s possible future owner, Elon Musk, who replied to West’s post about Zuckerberg with the message: “welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”

    West’s recent comments have been condemned by Jewish advocacy groups, including the American Jewish Committee, which blasted him for making “incoherent rants laden with racist and antisemitic undertones” in a video on Friday.

    The group’s post specifically mentioned West’s “dangerous” exchange with Combs, as well as his recent interview with Tucker Carlson, in which he claimed former presidential adviser Jared Kushner, who is Jewish, negotiated peace treaties in the Middle East during Donald Trump’s administration for the sole purpose of making money.

    “I just think it was to make money,” West said of Kushner’s work in the region. “I don’t know … I just think that that’s what they’re about is making money. I don’t think that they have the ability to make anything on their own.”

    It’s unclear what further actions Instagram and Twitter will take, but the former platform suspended West’s account for 24 hours in March for violating the company’s policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment after he used a racial slur to describe “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.

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  • Kanye West’s Instagram account restricted, returns to Twitter | CNN

    Kanye West’s Instagram account restricted, returns to Twitter | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    After being suspended by Meta on Friday, Kanye West posted on Twitter for the first time in nearly two years – a move celebrated by Elon Musk, who is in the process of buying the social media network.

    West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, tweeted a photograph of a hat that said 2024. Musk responded with his own tweet, reading “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”

    West last posted on Twitter in November 2020, just after the last US presidential election. Following his first tweet on Friday, West posted another one which included a picture of himself with Meta Platforms Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of kicking him off Instagram.

    In a statement to CNN Business on Saturday, a Meta spokesperson said content from West’s account was deleted for violating the company’s policies and a restriction was placed on his account. It did not specify what was objectionable about the content or what kind of restriction was imposed.

    The move comes after West shared a since-deleted post that included a screenshot of a text conversation with Sean “Diddy” Combs that was criticized by the American Jewish Committee as “anti-Jewish.”

    West was previously suspended by Instagram for 24 hours in March for directing a racial slur at “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.

    Earlier this week, West stirred controversy for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt and dressing several Black models in shirts with the same phrase, deemed a “hate slogan” by the Anti-Defamation League, at his fashion show in Paris.

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  • Kanye West Wonders How Conspiracy Peddler Tucker Carlson Is Taking His Theories

    Kanye West Wonders How Conspiracy Peddler Tucker Carlson Is Taking His Theories

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    In an unfounded conspiracy theory, the “Donda” artist ― who changed his name to Ye last year ― claimed he felt as if executives of the Gap clothing chain knew about the school shooting “before it even happened.”

    West ended his Yeezy Gap partnership with the brand in September, claiming there was a “breach of contract.”

    “Have I reached Alex Jones territory yet?” West asked Carlson.

    “No, I think you’re telling the truth,” Carlson replied with a smile.

    You can watch a clip of the moment, including West awkwardly smiling back at Carlson, below.

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  • Kanye West Slammed By Ahmaud Arbery’s Mother After Going Viral For ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt

    Kanye West Slammed By Ahmaud Arbery’s Mother After Going Viral For ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt

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    Kanye West sparked outrage after wearing a shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” during his YZY SZN 9 fashion show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday.

    The phrase is categorized by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate slogan. Per the Southern Poverty Law Center, White Lives Matter is a neo-Nazi group that was created as “a racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter.”

    Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of the late Ahmaud Arbery, called out the rapper and fashion designer for helping to “legitimize extremist behavior” with the viral incident.

    In February 2020, Arbery was murdered in a hate crime while jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Georgia after three white men chased him down and shot him.

    In a statement to Rolling Stone, Cooper-Jones expressed her “extreme disappointment” in West’s behavior, adding that the stunt made a mockery of the Black Lives Matter movement.

    “As a result of his display ‘White Lives Matter’ started trending in the U.S., which would direct support and legitimize extremist behavior, [much] like the behavior that took the life of her son,” Cooper-Jones communicated through her attorney Lee Merritt. “That is the thing that Wanda and families like hers continue to fight against.”

    The statement continued: “This mockery of the Black Lives Matter movement and his now denunciation of the movement as some sort of hoax flies directly in the face [of what he’s said]. It’s confusing for her, it’s confusing for the families to receive his support privately, but publicly to set us all back.”

    Amid the wave of backlash over the controversial shirt, West, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, posted and deleted a number of messages on Tuesday morning to his Instagram addressing the criticism — including one post calling the BLM movement a “scam.”

    “Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam. Now it’s over. You’re welcome,” he wrote.

    He further ignited the criticism by posing for a photo next to conservative commentator Candace Owens, who also wore the same shirt in white.

    Some of the models on the catwalk of Ye’s show also wore shirts with the same message, The Guardian reported.

    Ye previously had lent his support to Arbery’s family by covering their legal fees in the family’s quest for justice after the unarmed Black jogger was chased and killed by father and son Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.

    In June 2020, Ye also donated $2 million to the families of Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

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  • Kanye West faces backlash for wearing shirt with

    Kanye West faces backlash for wearing shirt with

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    At his Paris fashion show on Monday, Kanye “Ye” West wore a shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on the back. Alongside him was conservative commentator Candace Owens, who wore the same shirt in white.

    The rapper, who officially changed his name to Ye earlier this year, wore the shirt at a fashion show for his YZY brand. According to Complex, models also wore the “White Lives Matter” shirts during the show. 

    The phrase “White Lives Matter” emerged as “a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement” in 2015, and has been adopted and promoted by white supremacist groups and sympathizers, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

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    Kanye West faces backlash for wearing shirt with racist “White Lives Matter” slogan alongside controversial conservative commentator Candace Owens, at his Paris fashion show. 

    Instagram/Candace Owens


    West and Owens not only showed support for White Lives Matter, but they were also critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. After Monday’s fashion show, Owens posted photos of her outfit on her Instagram story. One post appeared to be a screenshot of a story from West’s account, which read: “Everyone know that Black Lives Matter was a scam now it’s over you’re welcome.” The story is no longer on West’s account. 

    Black Lives Matter gained national attention after the 2014 death of Michael Brown, a Black teenager who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. It grew to a global scale and received widespread attention after the 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. 

    The Black Lives Matter movement is meant to “dismantle a system that was designed to criminalize Black people, that was designed to criminalize poor people and people of color and other oppressed people,” one of its founders, Alicia Garza, told CBS News in 2020. 

    Many activists condemned West’s shirt and comments. Marc Lamont Hill, an activist, author and professor, tweeted that West’s “decision to wear a ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt is disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible.”

    Professor and political commentator Wendy Osefo said what West is doing “is not only intellectually dishonest it’s irresponsible and borderline dangerous.”

    Journalist Jemele Hill said while the shirt may be “a troll move or marketing,” it is a “dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform.”

    Hannah Gais, senior research analyst at Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, said in a statement to CBS News both West and Owens “have a proclivity for high-profile stunts designed to troll liberals.” and that their “use of rhetoric popular among some on the racist fringe goes to show that these slogans can become normalized and part of the broader right-wing vernacular through repetition.”

    Although some of West’s past songs shed light on racism and the mistreatment of Black people, he has come under fire for some of his statements in recent years. During a 2018 interview with TMZ, West said slavery wasn’t real. He also made headlines in 2018 for meeting with then-President Donald Trump several times and wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. 

    Caitlin O’Kane


    caitlin-okane.jpg

    Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.

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  • Kanye West Makes Runway Debut As Model In Mud-Filled Fashion Show

    Kanye West Makes Runway Debut As Model In Mud-Filled Fashion Show

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    Kendall Jenner, pack it up, because Kanye West is the new model in the family.

    The rapper and fashion icon, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, made his catwalk debut during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday with a runway strut that’s already grabbed the internet’s attention.

    West opened Balenciaga’s apocalyptic-themed Summer 2023 show, which featured a mud-soaked runway surrounded by piles of sludge, surprising everyone in the audience, including daughter North West who sat front row at the event alongside aunts Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner.

    Ditching his much-discussed bedazzled flip-flops, the Yeezy designer was dressed in a black, oversized, military-inspired jacket adorned with a “security” patch and leather pants. He wore a hoodie over a cap, which obscured part of his face ― West’s preferred method of appearing in public as of late.

    The musician arrived at the show with his younger children Saint West, 6; Chicago West, 4; and Psalm West, 3, according to Entertainment Tonight, while their mother Kim Kardashian was reportedly not in attendance.

    The unexpected appearance from the Grammy winner on the runway naturally spurred much conversation online.

    The hip-hop legend has a long history with the Spanish fashion house, which he collaborated with for a capsule collection under his now-defunct partnership with Gap. Kardashian has also made major inroads with the luxury brand, which recently featured her in a buzzy new campaign.

    Earlier in the week, West appeared at the Givenchy show in the French capital sporting a Balenciaga mouthguard.

    Kanye West attends the Givenchy Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week.

    Stephane Cardinale – Corbis via Getty Images

    As for why models were tasked with trudging through high-fashion muck, creative director Demna Gvasalia said the set stood as a “metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth.”

    “I hate boxes and I hate labels. … Individualism in fashion is downgraded to pseudotrends dictated by a post in stories of some celebrity of the moment,” he wrote in the show’s notes. “I’ve decided to no longer explain my collections and verbalize my designs, but to express a state of mind.”

    It’s unclear why Kardashian wasn’t at the event, as she’s made a habit of still supporting West publicly since their split, while the former couple continue to hammer out the details of their somewhat-contentious divorce.

    West was absent at the show she curated for Dolce & Gabbana titled “Ciao Kim” during Milan Fashion Week days ago, which was a full-fledged KarJenner family affair.

    The back-to-back fashion extravaganzas arrive on the heels of West’s public apology to Kardashian for “any stress that I have caused” after previously attacking the reality star and her family on social media.

    “This is the mother of my children and I apologize for any stress that I have caused, even in my frustration because God calls me to be stronger,” he said during a “Good Morning America” appearance. “But also, ain’t nobody else going to be causing no stress either. I need this person to be least stressed and the best sound mind and as calm as possible to be able to raise those children.”

    Watch the full Balenciaga Summer 23 Collection below.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh_1K9s6UV0

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