Kanye West, having reach the limits of his ability to shock people with his antisemitism, swung in the other direction Thursday by announcing on X, “I am done with antisemitism.”
The announcement came hours after two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C. were shot and killed outside an event at a Jewish museum. The suspect declared “Free Palestine” after he was arrested, according to police.
The announcement also came a few weeks after West, aka Ye, released a song called “Heil Hitler” that praised Adolf Hitler. While other platforms rushed to take it down, it became a hit on Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter. where it received millions of views.
X being X, Ye’s announcement that he was met with some disappointment. One person wrote, “Unfollowed.”
Other sounded a little skeptical of West’s transformation. The account Showbiz 411, from entertainment journalist Roger Friedman, replied: “We’re done with you — so we’re even.”
In a series of tweets following up on his message, Ye wrote: “I love all people… God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused… I forgive those who have caused me pain… Thank you God… I simply got a FaceTime from my kids and I wanna save the world again… The earth itself is in Gods Kingdom… GOD CALLS FOR PEACE… Share peace.”
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It was unclear of Ye’s new tweets were related to the shooting, which occurred shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. Those killed were Yaron Lischinsky, 30, who reportedly grew up in Israel and Germany, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who was reportedly from Kansas.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was detained soon after the shooting. Pamela A. Smith, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said he had declared “Free, free Palestine” in custody, according to The New York Times.
Kanye West and Antisemitism
West’s declaration that he is done with antisemitism is the latest turn in his highly publicized, open struggle with mental health and declining fame.
Like the fictitious version of Marilyn Manson in a famous satirical Onion story with the headline “Marilyn Manson Now Going Door-To-Door Trying To Shock People,” Ye has had to top himself with new shocks and outrages to generate attention.
West was the subject of the 2022 Netflix doc jeen-yus, which filled his rise, decades ago, from obscurity to recognition as an in-demand hip-hop producer and, for a time, top musical artist.
Since 2022, he has gained at least as much attention for his views as for his music, losing friends, fans and sponsors for such actions as identifying as a Nazi, praising Hitler, using swastika imagery, and denying the Holocaust.
Mockery of his positions continued over the weekend, as Saturday Night Live aired a skit in which Austin Powers and Wayne’s World star Mike Myers, playing himself, found himself stuck in an elevator with West.
In 2007, Myers famously stood awkwardly next to West during a nationally televised telethon benefit for victims of Hurricane Katrina in which West began a seemingly impromptu speech in which he said of the then-president, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.”
In the sketch this past weekend, Myers struggles to make conversation with West — or to just get to end of the elevator ride — as West, played by Kenan Thompson, issues declarations like, “I’m in the KKK now!”
SNL, like everyone, has struggled to satirize West with made-up statements more stunning than the ones he routinely shares in real life.
But that’s all over now, if you believe today’s tweets.
Main image: Kanye West in the Netflix documentary jeen-yus.