Kanye “Ye” West has been intermittently broadcasting his thoughts, no matter how inane or offensive, across the internet for a fair few years now, with little to no consequences.
He tends to pop up, say something concerning, like when he proclaimed Bill Cosby was innocent back in 2016, or that slavery was a choice in 2018, then pipe down again for months at a time.
The outbursts have often coincided with periods where Ye has decided to come off his bipolar medication, which he once claimed was due to the meds inhibiting his music output.
I’m loving the new music I’ve been working on. 6 months off meds I can feel me again. Remember when dark fantasy came out I used to tweet a storm also.
— ye (@kanyewest) December 15, 2018
But Ye’s rants became all the more regular following his split from ex-wife Kim Kardashian, which was announced in January 2021. Earlier this year, West spent a month or so focusing his gaze entirely on Pete Davidson, who Kim K was dating at the time, repeatedly referring to him as “Skete” and even joking about his death in frequent, frantic-seeming Instagram posts.
Ye’s latest eruption has taken a more scattergun approach, though, where he’s been attacking just about everyone who disagrees with him — as well as the entire Jewish community, it seems.
It all started at Paris fashion week, where West faced criticism after wearing a White Lives Matter shirt during his surprise YZY (née Yeezy) season nine show. Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa Johnson voiced her disapproval, to which Ye responded by posting images of her on his Instagram with the caption: “This is not a fashion person You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah.” (Ye has previously also had beef with Trevor Noah.)
Despite many choosing to stand with Johnson - including Vogue, which means, de facto, Anna Wintour - and call out the rapper on his behaviour, West continued his tirade in the weeks following. It escalated on Saturday, October 8, when Ye tweeted “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going Defcon 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
As a result, West has since had accounts suspended on Twitter and Instagram, and he’s also facing consequences within the A list community - here are all the celebrities who have called him out on his controversial comments.
Gigi Hadid
Before the anti-semitic tweet, back when Kanye was busy directing his anger at Gabriella Karefa Johnson, numerous fashion industry names stood up against the rapper to defend Johnson, including older Hadid sister, Gigi.
In response to Ye’s posts about Johnson, Gigi Hadid commented: “You wish you had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha… If there’s actually a point to any of your s*** she might be the only person that could save you [...] You’re a bully and a joke.”
Kanye didn’t take this retort well, and has since hit out at Gigi in multiple of his rants. In one post, he said: “I WONDER WHAT GIGI AND VENUS’S PERSPECTIVES WERE WHEN I DIDN’T KNOW WHERE MY CHILD WAS ON HER BIRTHDAY,” in reference to drama revolving around his daughter, Chicago, where he claimed that Kim refused to let him see their child on her fourth birthday.
To top it all off, he’s recently been resharing videos comparing Gigi Hadid to a cabbage patch doll. Okay.
Hailey Bieber
Another fashion girl who rushed to support Gabriella Karefa Johnson was Hailey Bieber, who posted on Instagram saying: “GKJ ALL DAY, EVERYDAY. My respect for you runs deep my friend! To know you is to adore you and to work with you is an honour. The most kind. The most talented. The most fun. The most chic.”
Kanye hit back by posting a screenshot of an article detailing Hadid and Bieber’s support for Johnson, captioning the post: “Wait Am I cancelled again??? Justin please let me know.” In a later rant, he added: “And Justin get your girl before I get mad.”
According to TMZ, this has led to Justin Bieber ending his long term friendship with West, in defence of his wife.
Lizzo
Kanye randomly decided to go for Lizzo as well this month, clearing his busy beef schedule to make way for another addition during his Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson on October 7.
“When Lizzo loses 10 pounds and announces it, the bots … on Instagram, they attack her losing weight, because the media wants to put out a perception that being overweight is the new goal when it’s actually unhealthy,” he said, then adding, “It’s demonic.”
Lizzo responds to Kanye West’s comments about her weight during Toronto concert:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 10, 2022
“I feel like everybody in America got my motherkf*cking name in their motherf*cking mouth for no motherf*cking reason. I'm minding my fat, Black beautiful business.” pic.twitter.com/n9YDY3TROr
Lizzo didn’t directly name Kanye in her response, but seemed to address his comments just days later at a gig in Toronto. “I feel like everybody in America got my motherf***ing name in their motherf***ing mouth for no motherf***ing reason,” she said, concluding: “I’m minding my fat, black, beautiful business!”
Jack Antonoff
Taylor Swift and Lorde’s producer Jack Antonoff was one of the first celebrities to voice their outrage at Kanye’s comments towards the Jewish community following his “Defcon 3” tweet.
Antonoff, who is Jewish, tweeted: “Kanye a little b*tch,” on October 9, the day after Ye posted his tweet. The producer has been closely linked to Taylor Swift, who could perhaps be considered patient zero of Kanye West beefs, since 2013 when they collaborated for her single Sweeter Than Fiction.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The mother of horror, Jamie Lee Curtis, also weighed in on Kanye’s anti-semitic comments the day after he posted them, writing on Twitter: “The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words matter. A threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop.”
Curtis, who is Hungarian Jewish on her father’s side, then appeared on NBC’s Today show the day following and further addressed Ye’s remarks, saying: “I burst into tears. Defcon three on Jewish people? What are you doing? I mean, it’s bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world, but on Twitter, on a portal, to pour that in as if Jewish people haven’t had it hard enough? I mean, it was just abhorrent, it’s abhorrent.”
Ariana Grande
Thank U Next singer Ariana Grande is one of the latest celebrities to denounce Kanye for his tweets, sharing an Instagram post today to her story that carefully criticised the rapper.
The post included tweets from people commenting on the situation, saying: “It is possible to both recognise Kanye’s mental health challenges and vehemently condemn his foul and dangerous anti-Semitism.”
Another tweet in the post reads: “Please don’t let Kanye’s behaviour mischaracterize bipolar disorder as something that inherently makes us act out so terribly. There are ups and downs, but bipolar disorder doesn’t restructure your fundamental values into some harmful sh*t.”
Grande also reshared a reel of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Today show interview where she called West’s behaviour abhorrent.
