After recent comments, the controversial music celebrity received a lot of backlash.
Within the past few days, Kanye has been locked out of his accounts on social media, primarily Instagram and Twitter, due to his antisemitic posts and comments.
The rapper stated in one of his last tweets that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” referencing the scale of readiness used by the armed forces, known as Defcon.
His full tweet read, “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.”
A few weeks back, on Oct. 3, Kanye also wore a shirt that stirred up some mixed emotions. His shirt said ‘White Lives Matter.’
His reasoning for wearing the shirt was shared in an interview with Tucker Carlson, where he said, “I thought the shirt was a funny shirt, I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.” He then went on to say that it was obvious that white lives matter.
Sean Combs, also known as the rapper P. Diddy, did not like this shirt and asked that fans not purchase this shirt.
Combs was not the only one to speak out against Kanye’s recent actions. Many celebrities have also spoken out about his antisemitic comments. Some of the celebrities include Jamie Lee Curtis, John Legend, Sarah Silverman and Meghan McCain. All stated that this was an extremely hateful and horrible thing to say.
Curtis came out on Twitter and said, “The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words matter. A threat to Jewish People ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop.”
There are many different perspectives to take on this situation.
The way I see it is that we give celebrities too much space to say whatever they want and get away with it because they have fame, power and money. They have to be held responsible for what they say and do.
It’s 2022 and antisemitic language is not okay. Some people take actions too far, and perhaps locking him out of social media won’t help, but it shows that he is going to be held accountable. There are many different outlets and platforms where he can share his beliefs and his points of view.
I wanted to get a few more perspectives on this matter beyond what the news says and my own opinions — so I asked a few people here on campus.
Becca Ward, a junior, said “Celebrities need to be held accountable. It isn’t the best idea to completely lock him out, as he truly hurt people with his words, but he should be allowed free speech, as it is a human right. The reaction of those companies that banned him shows that those companies believe that celebrities cannot just say what they want and think they can get away with it because of their status. That bit I believe is true, but taking away someone’s right to post on social media doesn’t take away the problem.”
Art professor Brent Dickinson stated, “As a free speech absolutist, I think everyone should have the right to state their beliefs, no matter how despicable. This is actually the historical legal legacy of the ACLU. The problem with Twitter and other socials are twofold: they are private companies and therefore have the right to reasonably control their site’s content but have also grown so large they have effectively monopolized our town square. They have taken over our social commons. Complicating things even more is Mr. West’s self admitted mental illness challenges. So it’s a very complex matter.”
One anonymous student says, “I think that it is stupid. They are taking away his first amendment rights and making the whole deal too political. People get offended from the smallest of issues. I think that Kanye shouldn’t have been locked out because of freedom of speech.”
There are many different perspectives and opinions to have on this issue. Have your own opinion, but let me reinforce this idea: words hurt. They create a lasting impact that can do more harm than imagined. Be careful of what you say and do — every action has a consequence.