by Rapper Ye Has Been Suspended After Making Anti-Semitic Comments And Praising Hitler On Thursday Twitter.
Ye’s account, formerly known as Kanye West, is read as “account suspended” early Friday.
Twitter owner Elon Musk said it would be suspended after a post on Ye’s account late Thursday showed an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. The post was later blocked by Twitter for violating its rules.
Musk wrote on the platform that the suspension was “for incitement to violence.” The length of the suspension was not immediately clear.
Ye’s suspension comes about a month after billionaire Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” bought Twitter for $44 billion.
Earlier Thursday, Ye sat down for an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in which Ye made anti-Semitic comments, referred to “the Jewish media” and said: “I see good things about Hitler, too.”
Ye wore a full-face black mask in the interview. White supremacist Nick Fuentes was also on the show, which was broadcast live.
But it was after Ye’s account tweeted the Star of David image later Thursday that he was suspended.
Musk responded to another user: “I did the best I could. Despite that, he again violated our rule against inciting violence. The account will be suspended.”
Ye’s Twitter account has been banned before for anti-Semitic comments, but he returned to the platform in November. musk has said Twitter restored Ye’s account before he took over.
In recent months, Ye has made a series of anti-Semitic comments and statements against Jews.
Adidas cut ties with Ye in October, saying his actions have been “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.” The move came after criticism for the company to act.
Twitter has suspended other accounts since Musk took over, including those of users who impersonated Musk. It also reinstated some previously suspended accounts, including that of former President Donald Trump.
Shortly after taking control of Twitter, Musk’s team laid off much of the company’s workforce, including employees who fight misinformation. On Wednesday, a senior European Union official warned that the company needs to beef up measures to protect users from hate speech to avoid violating new rules there.
Ye seemed to suggest that he would leave the platform on Thursday night before being suspended. He tweeted an image of Musk being hosed down, writing: “Let’s always remember this as my last tweet.”
Musk responded to that tweet: “That’s cool.” To the now-blocked post featuring the Star of David, Musk wrote: “This is not it.”
