Kanye West: The rapper’s most controversial moments

american rapper kanye-west has long been one of the most controversial figures in the entertainment industry. But her most recent actions, which include antisemitic comments and messages of white supremacy, they’ve alienated fans and business partners alike.

It’s another difficult chapter for the rapper and fashion mogul who was once hailed as an artistic genius, but whose stubborn nonconformity it has made him push freedom of expression to the limit.

current scandals

During the last Paris Fashion Week, the rapper, also known as Ye, wore a T-shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” (“White lives matter”), a distortion of the famous slogan “Black Lives Matter”a symbol of the 2020 anti-racist protests in the United States.

A few days later, his Instagram and Twitter accounts were suspended after the publication of messages considered antisemiticwhich referenced conspiracy theories about the alleged influence of the Jewish community.

“I’m going to use you as an example to show the Jewish people who told you to call me that there is no one who can threaten me or influence me,” West wrote in an exchange with rapper Diddy, who criticized his shirt.

Numerous celebrities denounced his comments, which encourage “hatred of Jews,” according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC, for its acronym in English).

After the scandal he caused with his shirt, West gave an interview to Fox News. The talk, controversial in itself, became even more controversial after the Vice media published unpublished excerpts in which the rapper made statements linked to racist conspiracy theories.

This week, a producer of the program The Shop: Uninterruptedstarring basketball star LeBron James, said that he didn’t want to air the episode featuring West because he had used it to “repeat hate speech“.

The artist, who had already abruptly ended his collaboration with Gap in September, has seen its association with Adidas questioned, evoking the need for “mutual respect and (of) shared values” a few days after the “White Lives Matters” controversy, without directly mentioning the incident.

old controversies

These latest controversies are added to a long list that gradually overshadows his talent.

The 45-year-old rapper, who has been compared without irony with Michelangelo, took off in 2004 with the album The College Dropoutat the beginning of a masterful career in which he combined rap with elements of soul and electro.

His unpredictability earned him criticism, but his honesty also earned him praise, as in 2005 when he denounced President George W. Bush’s response to devastating Hurricane Katrina.

However, with the passage of time his statements and actions have become increasingly bombastic and controversial.

In 2009, during the MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift won the award for best video with her single You Belong with me. The singer was giving her acceptance speech when West came onstage and interrupted her. “Taylor, I’m so happy for you and I’m going to let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” The rapper returned to his seat booed while Swift was shocked.

After the release of the album The life of Pabloin 2016, West experienced mental health problems – like bipolar disorder, which he has spoken about publicly – and disappeared from public life.

He reappeared at the end of that year during a meeting with former President Donald Trump, newly elected president, at Trump Tower.

That public support – rare among celebrities – for the Republican, accused on different occasions of racism and sexism, provoked reactions of astonishment and hostility.

In 2018, Trump and Ye met at the White House for a surreal encounter, in which the rapper performed an enigmatic ten-minute monologue.

Two years later, West personally launched himself into the presidential race, without success. But he plans to try again in 2024.

In 2022 he was suspended for 24 hours from Instagram after being accused of harassment, amid a difficult divorce with American star Kim Kardashian.

Although in the past commenters have shown some benevolence in recalling his mental health struggles, It seems that the public is changing its mind.

In The New York Times columnist Charles Blow called Ye a “narcissist addicted to attention and praise“.

“He participates in its torture. He heals it and uses it. One part is perhaps natural, but another part is invented, to reinforce the legend.”

hc