Kanye West Admits He 'Was Drinking' When He Wrote 2022 Antisemitic Tweet
In a 2022 interview with Candace Owens shared on Wednesday, Aug. 7, the rapper said "the demons" come out when he drinks Hennessey
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Kanye West in Los Angeles in May 2023Kanye West says he was under the influence when he wrote an antisemitic tweet.
In a 2022 interview with Candace Owens on her podcast Candace shared on Wednesday, Aug. 7, the rapper, 47, said he "was drinking" when he shared an offensive tweet that cost him several business deals and earned him a ton of public vitriol.
“I was drinking when I put up the DEFCON tweet,” West said.
He continued: “You wanna know what alcohol I had inside me? Hennessy. It turns us gray. The demons [come out].”
When the 35-year-old political commentator asked West why he didn't explain that he was intoxicated prior, he said he didn't want to be “discredited” because he still considered the comments his “truth.”
Related: How Kanye West's Antisemitic Comments Lost Him His Billionaire Status as Brands Cut Ties
In October 2022, West faced blowback from Meta and Twitter after sharing antisemitic posts.
Instagram restricted the "All Falls Down" musician's account and deleted content from his page after he violated the social media platform's rules and guidelines, per NBC News and CNN. At the time, a Meta spokesperson did not confirm to either outlet which pieces of content violated their rules.
In a now-deleted post, West shared a screenshot of a text exchange between himself and Diddy, which allegedly showed the 24-time Grammy winner claiming that Combs was controlled by Jewish people. "Jesus is Jew," he wrote in the caption, according to NBC News.
In a statement, The American Jewish Committee (AJC) called out West's language for perpetuating "antisemitic tropes like greed and control.
"Kanye West should figure out how to make a point without using antisemitism. Over the last week, the musician has fomented hatred of Jews," they said, referencing the "Stronger" performer's recent appearance onTucker Carlson Tonight, where ehe said Jared Kushner's work with Israel, which resulted in a peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates, "was to make money."
AJC continued: "The greed theme has led to a long list of Jewish stereotypes, such as being money-oriented or controlling the world's finances. The control theme seeks to falsely portray Jews as secret puppet masters ruling over others. Ye needs to learn that words matter."
After his controversial two-part interview on the Fox News series where he addressed the backlash from wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt for his Yeezy show Monday at Paris Fashion Week, West's social media activity quickly moved from Instagram to Twitter, where he called out Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg.
"Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off instagram?" he wrote, alongside a throwback photo of the pair singing karaoke.
Elon Musk responded by welcoming him back to X (formerly known as Twitter). (West's account has since been banned and reinstated and he deactivated his account in April 2024 after announcing that Yeezy adult content was on its way, per Billboard.)
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Related: Kanye West's Instagram Restricted and Tweet Removed for Violating Platforms' Rules and Guidelines
Shortly after, West had a tweet on his X account taken down after it violated the company's rules.
In a now-deleted message, the "Heartless" performer wrote that he was going to go "death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," per The Hollywood Reporter.
"I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," West wrote, according to the outlet. "The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."
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