Controversial rapper Kanye West has agreed to purchase the right-wing social media platform Parler - which has fashioned itself as the “free speech” alternative to Twitter.
West, 45, shared the news on Monday, October 17, just days after he’d been blocked from posting on both Instagram and Twitter for making several antisemitic remarks.
Parlement Technologies, which owns Parler, said that it had reached an agreement to sell the “pioneering uncancelable free speech platform” to the rapper, who now goes by the name Ye.
In a statement, West said: “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.”
The star, whose divorce from wife Kim Kardashian was finalised in March 2022, is an active participant on Parler, which pitches itself as a “viewpoint-neutral social media app dedicated to freedom of expression, civil discourse, and user privacy”.
The social network was removed from app services including Apple and Amazon for a period following the US Capitol attack because of concerns over its role in the violence.
Last week, West’s Twitter and Instagram were restricted after he shared an alleged antisemitic post.
The rapper had his Instagram suspended at the weekend after posting messages playing into antisemitic conspiracy theories, accusing P Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people.
The comments were condemned across showbusiness and in the Jewish community, with the American Jewish Community saying he had “fomented hatred against Jews”.
Taking to Twitter for the first time in two years, West complained about his ban from Instagram, with his return welcomed by Elon Musk.
In a tweet, Musk said: “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend”, before the rapper was banned from that social platform, too.
