Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is a popular artist, song writer, fashion designer and influencer who needs to be silenced. Recently, Ye has made a series of anti-semitic remarks over social media, and we, as a community, need to ignore him, and not give him any media coverage. 

Over Twitter, Ye has stated that he will go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” and has made several hateful comments about the Jewish community and their culture. Furthermore, he has stated his belief that the Jewish community is inferior. Such comments should not be tolerated, or given any attention to. 

Following his discriminatory statements, several organizations, such as Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, JP Morgan Chase, Foot Locker and many more organizations dropped their partnerships with Ye. Additionally, Madame Tussauds in London, a museum consisting of hundreds of wax figures of famous people, has taken down Kanye’s statue. These companies do not want to associate with the anti-semitic celebrity and neither should we.

Since these companies ended their business dealings with Ye, his net worth has dropped significantly, from $2 billion to $400 million. He is also no longer listed on the Forbes list of billionaires. 

More recently, Ye has displayed his opinions on television through interviews where he has made even more controversial comments such as praising Hitler. On the popular conservative talk show, “InfoWars,” Ye continued his recent cycle of anti-semitism by saying “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” and “I like Hitler.”  Additionally he stated, “We got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time.” These ideologies are unacceptable when you take into account the suffering and terror that Hitler and the Nazis inflicted. Ye’s views cannot be tolerated, which is why we, as a community, should take action to the matter.

Alongside the fact that Ye has horrible views of Hitler and the Jewish community, he preaches these views on social media. Some followers of Ye will listen to anything he has to say including these hateful, discriminatory ideas. His hateful ideology could potentially be spread to younger audiences who support him. According to a Stanford study, 80 to 90% of students couldn’t judge if the news they were seeing was credible. Another study found that only two out of 27 children could identify false information. If Ye continues to say these things, and his supporters continue to listen to him, then more hate, lies and misinformation will be spread through our community. As a result, restricting Ye’s voice is vital in reducing antisemitism that could emerge from his influence.

Some supporters of Ye make comments that defend him for the songs and albums he has published. Ye might have a special talent when it comes to writing and composing songs, but this does not refute the things he said. It doesn’t matter what music he’s made because he is still an ignorant antisemite who should be dropped by modern culture.

Collectively, we as a society need to all reject Ye and his ideas and make sure that we never idolize someone who believes people have different levels of value. In the U.S. and at Midtown, we believe in equality, not discrimination. Educating ourselves and silencing hatred like Ye’s is the key to the spread of acceptance within our community.