In 2009, Kanye West stepped onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, took a microphone from newly awarded singer Taylor Swift, and declared: “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Taylor stood on stage in awe, and the internet blew up in disbelief of the audacity that West garnered to ruin a special moment for a deserving recipient.
This was just the beginning.
In 2018, Kanye introduced the public to his support for then-President Donald Trump. He shared that although he might not agree with all of Trump’s views, they are both “dragon energy,” and he is his “brother.” He continued on by saying, “I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.” The two met in the oval office soon after, and West found many ways to display his approval of the controversial figure to the public. Now, people really began to question his judgment.
Later that same year, West stated possibly his most offensive and controversial opinion yet. In a live TMZ interview, he said: “You hear about slavery for 400 years. 400 years? That sounds like a choice. Like, that was for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? It’s like, we’re mentally in a prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because slavery is too direct to the idea of blacks.” West is black himself, and this statement is harmful to his family and every person that shares his racial and ethnic background. Let’s also not forget that the term “blacks” is an insensitive generalization of black people and no longer serves our society like it did in the long period of oppression and discrimination of black people in America – which still haunts our country today.
Just to emphasize the nature of his actions, West also ran for president in 2020. Clearly he did not win. It could be due to the fact that during his candidacy he stated that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed enslaved people,” and that he cares less about winning the presidency and more about the fact that homeless people sit in front of the Gucci store and this isn’t good.
To spare us all some time and frustration, I will skip ahead to present-day, where West, now going by Ye, may have finally destroyed his career and future fame.
In October, Ye posted a tweet that began with the words “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” I don’t really need to explain why this is wrong, but I will explain the societal impact that it has already had on people. Antisemitism has been present on American land since 1654, when the first known Jewish people arrived to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.
A couple weeks after the post, a message reading, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” scrolled across the outside of a college football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, and then on a building in Jacksonville that same night. Antisemetic highway signs were placed in Jacksonville and LA. Many people are appalled by his words, yet others have taken advantage of the publicity of antisemitic views that they share.
An unfortunate addition to all of this are the excuses made for West. There is a lack of urgency to counteract his actions because of a notion of mental health issues, and his reputation of past controversy. Being a song-writer, producer, and fashion designer, he somehow portrays his words as a form of art and expression, and expects this to act as a shield from backlash.
Eventually, Ye lost business and/or support from the Gap, Instagram and Twitter, JPMorgan Chase, Def Jam, Balenciaga, CAA, MRC, Adidas, Foot Locker, Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald, Peloton, T.J. Maxx, Donda Academy, and Madame Tussauds London.
The most important takeaway from all of this, in my opinion, is how powerful widespread communication like Twitter or Instagram and the influence of well-known people can be. It can be poorly executed like Kanye showed us, or it can be effective in the ways that people can influence politics and benefit democracy, support marginalized communities, spread awareness of structural inequalities in our society, and the list goes on.
Let’s be a little more progressive, and a little less Ye.
Sources
Bill Carter. November 2, 2022. “Opinion: The damage Kanye West is doing is devastating” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/opinions/kanye-west-antisemitic-comments-carter/index.html
Us Weekly Staff. October 27, 2022. “Kanye West’s Most Outrageous Moments” Us Magazine.
Christie D’Zurilla. October 27, 2022. “Kanye West’s hits keep coming: Here are the companies that have cut ties with him” Los Angeles Times.
ADL. “Antisemitism in American History” Antisemistism Uncovered.
https://antisemitism.adl.org/antisemitism-in-american-history/