Anti-Defamation League Reports Kanye West Rants Tied To Antisemitic Incidents
On Monday (February 13), the Anti-Defamation League released a report that chronicles 30 antisemitic incidents over the past several months that the organization says were directly inspired by a string of hateful, anti-Jewish comments made by Kanye West.
The report features an extensive list of incidents that happened across the country during the rapper’s monthslong spree of interviews and statements amplifying tired antisemitic stereotypes and hate speech.
“These incidents — which include vandalism, banner drops, targeted harassment and campus propaganda distributions — demonstrate the ongoing influence of Ye’s conspiratorial, bigoted rants,” the report reads.
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“Immediately following Ye’s antisemitic comments, which included inflammatory tropes about Jewish power and Holocaust denial, the slogan ‘Ye Is Right’ surfaced online in hashtags and antisemitic accounts,” The ADL report adds. “The ADL Center on Extremism has also tracked references to ‘Ye Is Right’ in instances of on-the-ground antisemitic vandalism and harassment nationwide.”
The report also says the rapper’s statements were paired with swastikas or other antisemitic slurs “[and]have become mainstream shorthand for the hatred of — or a desire to commit violence against – Jewish people.” They also clarify that only some of the incidents were perpetrated by people who are known extremists.
In the wake of his antisemitic rants, ‘Ye has since been dropped by his record label, publicists, lawyers, fashion collaborators and brand partners.