Kanye West is buying his own social media site after being banned from several platforms following a series of controversial and racist comments.
Kanye West is buying his own social media site after being banned from several platforms following a series of controversial and racist comments. Kanye is no stranger to controversy, having hit the headlines numerous times over the years for comments and actions many believe are related to the singer’s mental health issues. The artist currently known as Ye has had a long struggle with bipolar disorder and was hospitalized following an outburst in 2016. During the incident, Kanye delivered a long speech criticizing several high-profile music industry figures, including Jay-Z and Beyonce, and praised the then-incoming president Donald Trump (via The New York Times). Previous controversies revolving around the rapper-turned-fashion designer include the time he stormed on stage during the VMA awards during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to declare Beyonce had released one of “the best albums of all time.”
The most recent string of incidents began during the 2022 Paris Fashion Week when Kanye showed up alongside right-wing talking head Candice Owens. Both West and Owens were wearing “White Lives Matter” hoodies, and West’s decision to don the attire was immediately criticized by members of the music industry, people on social media, and businesses West works with. Following the incident, sportswear manufacturer Adidas said it was “reviewing its partnership” with the controversial musician (via BBC).
The Paris Fashion Week incident was followed by an interview with Tucker Carlson, where Kanye defended his decision and claimed the backlash was due to him not acting in a way “the media” approved of. He claimed the white lives matter shirt was “funny,” “the obvious thing to do,” and that he wrote white lives matter on a shirt “because they do.” Vice also obtained some controversial clips that were cut from the interview, which included a number of anti-semitic comments.
Following the Tucker Carlson interview, West took to social media. On his Instagram account, Ye posted screenshots of several conversations he was having via text message. One of those involved an argument with fellow musician P Diddy where Diddy appeared to be trying to talk Kanye down or meet up with him.
