Elon Musk kicked Kanye West off Twitter on Friday \u201cfor incitement to violence,\u201d after the rapper posted a picture that showed a swastika interlaced with a Star of David.<\/p>\n
The post came hours after an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in which West sparked outrage by declaring his \u201clove\u201d of Nazis and admiration for Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n
The photo was captioned with the words \u201cLove everyone #lovespeech.\u201d<\/p>\n
West had also shared a picture of a shirtless Musk getting sprayed with water, captioned: \u201cLet\u2019s always remember this as my final tweet.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Musk said: \u201cJust clarifying that his account is being suspended for incitement to violence, not an unflattering pic of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,\u201d Musk tweeted.<\/p>\n
Musk, who previously called himself a \u201cfree speech absolutist,\u201d has repeatedly said he believes all content permitted by law should be allowed on Twitter, and sought to remake the social media organization after he took control in October.<\/p>\n
In an hours-long appearance on Infowars, the show fronted by Jones, West \u2014 now known as Ye \u2014 wore a black mask completely covering his face, as he ranted about sin, pornography and the devil.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like Hitler,\u201d West said several times.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.timesofisrael.com\/www\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Untitled-2134514-640x400.jpg?resize=600%2C375&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nElon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. (AP\/Susan Walsh, File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
West hid his face completely under a mask that had neither eye nor mouth slits.<\/p>\n
However, Jones addressed him as West as they spoke, Infowars billed the interview as being with West, and at one point Jones took West\u2019s cellphone and posted a tweet on his account that appeared in real-time.<\/p>\n
West, who has hinted he is running for US president in 2024, has spoken openly about his struggles with mental illness, but his erratic behavior has continued to raise concerns.<\/p>\n
The businessman has seen his commercial relationships crumble after a series of antisemitic comments, as the one-time titan of fashion and music appears to have entered a disturbing spiral.<\/p>\n
On Infowars, West drew shocked laughter and even disagreement from far-right host Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see good things about Hitler also,\u201d he told Jones. \u201cThis guy\u2026 invented highways, invented the very microphone that I used as a musician, you can\u2019t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I\u2019m done with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hitler did not invent either of those things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done with the classification, every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,\u201d he said, adding,\u00a0\u201cI like Hitler.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones, a serial provocateur who was ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for claiming one of America\u2019s deadliest school shootings was a \u201choax,\u201d interjected that \u201cthe Nazis were thugs and did really bad things.\u201d<\/p>\n
West did not back down.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.timesofisrael.com\/www\/uploads\/2022\/12\/yeyey-640x400.jpg?resize=600%2C375&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nKanye West seen during an appearance on InfoWars with Alex Jones on December 1, 2022. (screen capture: Twitter; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cBut they did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time\u2026 I love Nazis,\u201d West said. \u201cI love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hours after the interview, social media platform Parler, a favorite of conservatives for its hands-off approach to moderation, said a deal for West to buy the outfit was off.<\/p>\n
\u201cParlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler,\u201d the network said on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October, German sportswear giant Adidas severed its lucrative tie-up with West after the star made anti-Semitic statements, including threatening to \u201cgo death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,\u201d using a misspelled reference to US military readiness.<\/p>\n
Paris fashion house Balenciaga and US clothing retailer Gap also ended ties with West, who appeared at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt with the slogan \u201cWhite Lives Matter,\u201d a rebuke to the Black Lives Matter racial equality movement.<\/p>\n
West appeared on Infowars alongside Nick Fuentes, the same white supremacist with whom West had dinner last week at former president Donald Trump\u2019s Florida estate, in a meeting that provoked outrage.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s livestream sparked immediate condemnation from the Republican Jewish Coalition, which dubbed the three men \u201ca disgusting triumvirate of conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers, and antisemites.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven his praise of Hitler, it can\u2019t be overstated that Kanye West is a vile, repellent bigot who has targeted the Jewish community with threats and Nazi-style defamation,\u201d a statement from the group said.<\/p>\n
\u201cConservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make it clear that he is a pariah. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I joined The Times of Israel after many years covering US and Israeli politics for Hebrew news outlets.<\/p>\n
I believe responsible coverage of Israeli politicians means presenting a 360 degree view of their words and deeds \u2013 not only conveying what occurs, but also what that means in the broader context of Israeli society and the region.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s hard to do because you can rarely take politicians at face value \u2013 you must go the extra mile to present full context and try to overcome your own biases.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m proud of our work that tells the story of Israeli politics straight and comprehensively<\/strong>. I believe Israel is stronger and more democratic when professional journalists do that tough job well.<\/p>\n Your support for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community<\/strong> helps ensure we can continue to do so.<\/p>\n Thank you, via www.timesofisrael.com https:\/\/ift.tt\/JLxjht8<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n December 2, 2022 at 07:11AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Musk kicks Kanye West off Twitter after he posts Star of David merged with swastika Elon Musk kicked Kanye West off Twitter on Friday \u201cfor incitement to violence,\u201d after the rapper posted a picture that showed a swastika interlaced with a Star of David. The post came hours after an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,8,287],"tags":[103],"class_list":["post-6665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-am-headline","category-featured-stories","category-kanye-ye-west","tag-sbn"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=1136%2C626&ssl=1",1136,626,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=300%2C165&ssl=1",300,165,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=768%2C423&ssl=1",768,423,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=1024%2C564&ssl=1",1024,564,true],"rpg_gallery_admin_thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"rpg_gallery_thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=1136%2C626&ssl=1",1136,626,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=1136%2C626&ssl=1",1136,626,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Peter Santilli"]},"category_info":"AM Headline<\/a> Featured Stories<\/a> Kanye \"Ye\" West<\/a>","tag_info":"Kanye \"Ye\" West","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/petersantilli.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-02-at-6.50.53-AM.png?fit=1136%2C626&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/plD2r-1Jv","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6665"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6670,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6665\/revisions\/6670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petersantilli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTal Schneider, Political Correspondent<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n