Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked due to posts by the rapper, now known legally as Ye, that were widely deemed antisemitic.
A Twitter spokesperson said Sunday that Ye posted a message that violated its policies.
In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” in keeping with web archive records. That is an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale generally known as DEFCON.
In the identical tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
Earlier this month, Ye had been criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Political Cartoons
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he didn’t support the shirt, and urged people not to purchase it.
On Instagram, Ye posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy and suggested he was controlled by Jewish people, in keeping with media reports.
Ye’s account on Instagram was locked Friday for policy violations, in keeping with media reports. Spokespeople for Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms, didn’t immediately reply to a request to substantiate the reports.
Under their policies, the 2 social networks prohibit the posting of offensive language. Ye’s Twitter account remains to be lively but he can’t post until the suspension ends, after an unspecified period.
Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday following a virtually two-year hiatus, reportedly after Instagram locked his account.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who last week renewed his $44 billion offer to purchase Twitter following a monthslong legal battle with the corporate, greeted Ye’s return to the platform before his suspension by tweeting “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend.”
Musk has said he would remake Twitter right into a free speech haven and loosen up restrictions, even though it’s unattainable to know precisely how he would run the influential network if he were to take over.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material might not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
