Kanye West, who was locked out of Twitter for posting antisemitic remarks, has returned to the platform under Elon Musk. The US rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye, shared an image of basketball player Kyrie Irving with no caption.
Brooklyn Nets star Irving has himself been embroiled in an antisemitism controversy. He faced a backlash sharing a post about an antisemitic film.
Earlier on Wednesday, Irving released a statement saying he opposes all forms of hate, and he and the club would each donate 500,000 dollars (£438,000) toward groups that work to eradicate it.
“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalised and impacted every day,” he said, in a joint statement with the Nets and the Anti-Defamation League. “I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility.”
Ye's tweet received more than 30,000 likes within 30 minutes of being posted. Musk previously said that the platform had restored the rapper’s account before he finalised his acquisition of the company – though it is West’s first post since then.
West’s return to Twitter comes one day after his Instagram account was temporarily restricted for 30 days, after violating the platform’s policies. He will not be able to post, comment or send direct messages during this time, and content was removed from the account.
The rapper continues to face a backlash over his antisemitic comments, having been dropped by several major brands including Adidas – a move that cost him his billionaire status. West used the alternative messaging platform Parler, which he is in the process of buying, to announce he had once again been penalised on Instagram.
West has long been an outspoken figure and was criticised last month for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to the showing of his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week. Following the controversy, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and members of her family called for an end to the “terrible violence and hateful rhetoric” towards the Jewish community.
