Kanye West

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Depressed pre-divorced dad arc and pre-Nazi Ye at the Tribeca festival in 2009.
I'm giving this lasagna a massage while preparing to announce I'm joining ISIS! Thank you for your interest.
—Ye being mocked on Family Guy for something that may very well happen in the future.[1]
Time to put on some
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Musicians

Ye, also known as Yeezy and Kanye Omari "Dragon Energy"[2] "Slavery Was a Choice"[3] "Death Con 3 on Jewish People"[4] "Imma Let You Finish But"[5] ‘’Yedolf Blitler’’ ‘’Klanye’’ ‘’I like/love Hitler’’[6] West, (1977–) is an American rapper, attention hound, and on-and-off Donald Trump fanboy. Usually, Ye would be considered a wildly successful artist, with a big name, and a bigger ego. The people at RationalWiki would usually not give attention to people like him for those traits purely. However, his controversies extend to his attitudes towards political, and social issues, that have descended further into madness as the years have passed. Whether or not this is a result of the Kardashian curse is not relevant to this article.

Political stunts and views[edit]

Ye grew up in a left-leaning household; his father had been a member of the Black Panther Party and his mother had been a professor at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college.[7]

He notably accused President George W. Bush of "not caring about black people" in 2005, after the events of Hurricane Katrina.[8]

Following his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Awards, Barack Obama referred to Ye as a "jackass" in a behind-the-scenes interview on CNBC,[9] which Ye took in stride, saying that he was perfectly willing to be the "butt of all of [Obama]'s jokes if it someway helped his overall mission."[7]

In 2013, Ye claimed that the reason President Obama was having trouble pushing his policies in Washington was, since he was black, he wasn't as well connected as Jews were, and that black people "don't got family that got money like that." This statement drew criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, after which he apologized for said statements, where he claimed he meant it as a compliment.[10]

Ye sold merchandise that had the Confederate flag on it to promote his 6th studio album, Yeezus, released in 2013. He was also seen wearing a jacket with a Confederate flag patch on the sleeve and was photographed draped in a large confederate flag. However, this was not, technically, in support of the flag, but rather a way of trolling neo-Confederates by showing them a black man sporting the Confederate flag. Considering where Ye stands now, this can be considered ironic[11] Buzzfeed News has reported that he has been ripe for radicalisation[12] and that people were getting worried that Ye was getting radicalized by the far right.[13]

Ye was an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump ever since Trump became President of the United States. Interestingly, this conflicted with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian's support of Hillary Clinton.[7] However, he (temporarily) rescinded his support for Trump in the aftermath of the Muslim travel ban.

In April 2018, Ye appeared to hop back on the Trump Train, referring to Trump as his "brother" on Twitter and also tweeting a picture of himself wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.[14] He has also complimented and is friends with Candace Owens, a noted far-right[15] Gamergate[16] nut and Turning Point USA's director of urban engagement who regularly criticizes Black Lives Matter, referring to them as "overly privileged Americans" and "whiny toddlers pretending to be oppressed for attention."

Like any pseudo-intellectual rightist, Ye is a fan of Jordan Peterson's videos and Uncle Tom's female counterpart.[17][18]

Presidential Campaign[edit]

Hmm, if he can do it, so can I!

The Setup[edit]

Ye had floated the idea of running for President since at least 2015, though he remained ambiguous, if not contradictory, as to when he actually would run.[19]

He announced his campaign for President on July 4th, 2020. Although this was too late for him to get on the ballot in some states, he was still able to get on many states' ballots and there remained the possibility of write-in votes in all states.[20] His suggested policies included opposition to the death penalty and abortion, and on education to put "the fear and love of God in all schools and organisations" (which appears to conflict with the First Amendment). His supporter Elon Musk would be placed in charge of the US space program.[21]

The reasons behind his run are anyone's guess, which has prompted theories ranging from self-promotion,[22] to an attempt to syphon minority voters away from Democrats to benefit Trump's candidacy, to just plain nuttery. For a brief period in his extremely tumultuous campaign, various news outlets reported that Ye had dropped out of the presidential race.[23]

Ye being Ye[edit]

In interviews conducted shortly after he announced his run for president, Ye revealed many of his current beliefs (subject, of course, to rapid change). These beliefs included an anti-vaccination stance regarding future COVID-19 vaccines (he prefers the power of prayer and believes that vaccines are the "mark of the beast… they want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven"), support for anti-abortion positions (from a "black genocide" perspective), that his support for Donald Trump was due to a combination of Trump somehow being the only president "allowing God to still be part of the conversation", and liking "Trump hotels and the saxophones in the lobby", that God told him to run for office, that Black History MonthWikipedia was "torture porn", that inner city violence in Chicago was caused by removing "the fear and love of God in all schools and organizations", and that this presidential run absolutely positively is not a promotion angle for his upcoming album, nuh-uh, no sir-ee![24]

This was but the beginning of his bumpy campaign trail, dedicated to churning out at least one controversy a week, taking inspiration from another longshot candidate.

In a July 19th, 2020 rally, Ye did a rant at Harriet Tubman,Wikipedia saying that she "actually never freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people." This understandably created a backlash in the crowd.[25] Ye followed up the rally with a bizarre Twitter rant on the night of July 20th, 2020;[26] there was widespread worry that these bizarre events may relate to West's bipolar disorder, and there was concern about West's mental health.[27][28][29]

In July 2020, Ye faced backlash from Planned Parenthood over his abortion rights rant.[30] If that wasn't enough controversy, he reportedly wanted to model his White House cabinet after that of the fictional country Wakanda depicted in the movie Black Panther.[31]

He also revealed his extensive policy plans on important matters (such as foreign relations, taxes, the economy, and the COVID-19 crisis) that he would implement if elected president, as summarized below:

Tumbleweed.gif

The End?[edit]

In the end, Ye was able to get his name on 12 state ballots, and earned around 60,000 votes in the election.[32] He hastily conceded, showing that even he was quicker to accept reality than the Big Cheese. However, Ye being Ye, he remained ambiguous as to whether he will run again, tweeting out "Kanye 2024" immediately after conceding.[33]

All of this was put to rest in November 2022, when Ye officially announced his candidacy.[34]

50 shades of fascism[edit]

"Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler....I like Hitler... and he didn't kill 6 million Jews, that's just like factually incorrect"....There's a lot of things that I love about Hitler.
—Ye, in a discussion panel on Infowars, December 1 2022, where his off the rails Hitler love made even Alex Jones uncomfortable.[35]

In October 2022, Ye attracted plenty of attention when he appeared with Candace Owens at his Paris fashion show wearing a shirt with the phrase "White Lives Matter" written on the back.[36] This stunt was criticized by many for being (among other descriptions) "hugely irresponsible" and legitimizing "extremist behavior",[37][38] but predictably also earned him praise from the usual dog-whistling places you'd expect, like Fox News… even to the point of earning Ye an interview with Tucker Carlson.[39]

Shortly after this incident, Ye got into even more hot water when he posted antisemitic social media posts on Instagram and Twitter, where he declared that he was going to go "death con 3Wikipedia[sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE" (showing he doesn't know what the DEFCON system is or how it works), and invoked Black Hebrew Israelites woo in an attempt to "justify" his antisemitism. This led to Ye getting booted off both platforms.[40] Ye's appalling antisemitism in the social media posts was even too much for Fox News, with some hosts on the network performing a complete U-turn of their previous praise of Ye due to the shocking tweets.[41] Later, unaired portions of Ye's interview with Carlson were leaked by Vice NewsWikipedia. This leaked footage contained yet even more Black Hebrew Israelite oriented bigoted statements about Jewish people, Margaret Sanger conspiracy theories, and paranoid delusional thoughts concerning "fake children" being placed in his house to manipulate his kids.[42]

In mid-October 2022, Ye continued his unraveling from being a top hip-hop star into becoming a pathetic shitposting edgelord. On a podcast called "Drink Champs"Wikipedia, Ye doubled down on his antisemitism ("The Jewish media blocked me out",[43] "Jewish people have owned the Black voice", the supposed existence of other "Jewish business secrets", and other antisemitic allusions)[44] supplemented with even more Black Hebrew Israelite style statements ("With the darker Jews – the 12 lost tribes of Israel, who we are because we’re Jewish also, we’re from Africa also, we’re the blood of Christ.") [44] Also, perhaps fueled by Candace Owens' bullshit artistry,[note 1] Ye advanced a conspiracy theory that George Floyd died not because he was suffocated by a police officer's knee (as said officer, Derek ChauvinWikipedia, was found guilty in a court of law for), but by the completely discredited notion that he died due to overdosing on fentanyl.Wikipedia [47]

One day later, Ye cemented his new role as shitposting edgelord by announcing that he was buying Parler, seemingly in order to give Ye a place to "freely express" his new, strange, and confused bigotry (or as he called it in the press release, "controversial" "conservative opinions"). Unsurprisingly, this maneuver also has a connection to Owens: at the time Ye made the announcement, the CEO of Parler was George Farmer, who happens to be Owens' husband.[48] This attempt to buy Parler eventually unraveled in mid-November 2022.[49]

In later November 2022, Ye had dinner with Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-A-Lago club. In a sign of Ye's delusional chutzpah, Ye reportedly asked Trump to be his running mate for his 2024 run, pissing Trump off. [50] Ye also brought along a surprise guest, Nick Fuentes, whom with at this point perhaps he shared enough "edgelord shitposting antisemitic" values to overlook the "white supremacist racist" angle. The meeting was widely condemned by several politicians, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, and (surprisingly) even the alt-right website Breitbart, with most of the criticism focusing on how unacceptable it was for Trump to host two well-known antisemitic trolls.[51][52][53]

In early December, Kanye (who was masked in a black balaclava for some reason) was in an interview with Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones on InfoWars, where he sympathized with and praised Hitler and the Nazis (including identifying as a Nazi and making an anti-semitic rant), denied the Holocaust, and mocked Benjamin Netanyahu, and was so extreme it made Alex Jones uncomfortable.[54][55][56] Shortly afterwards, he decided it was a good idea to post an image of a swastika overlaying the Star of David on his recently reinstated Twitter account[57] to promote his presidential campaign. This was bad enough of a move to actually get Elon "Unban Everybody" Musk pissed at him and suspend his Twitter account again.[58][59]

However, as of March 2023, Kanye somehow had his anti-semitism cured by watching 21 Jump StreetWikipedia (because Kanye enjoyed Jonah Hill's performance) and apologized for his past comments. We're not kidding.[60] Though this didn't have a long-term impact, because in December 2023 West donned a black klan hood (an out and about black klansman),[61] and launched another massive antisemitic rant in which he stated: "Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye. Third party. Sponsor that."[62]

After apologizing again for his antisemitic outbursts in late December 2023,[63] on January 19 2024, Ye decided to attract controversy again for edgelord antics by wearing a band T-shirt of Burzum, aka the black metal solo project of neo-Nazi murderer Varg Vikernes.[64]

In 2024, 8 former employees sued Ye's company "Yeezy, LLC", Ye himself and the former chief of staff (Yiannopoulos). The employees alleged in the suit that the company did not pay them wages, and treated them with "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment", including racial slurs and African American employees being called "slaves".[65]

2024 presidential campaign[edit]

West announced his presidential campaign in November 2022,[34] around the same time that his public image and career was taking a massive hit due to the above racist statements and bizarre behavior. The campaign didn't get any better in the subsequent months.

On the same day that West said he was running for president, an investigation was announced by Adidas over allegations of misconduct at a deal meeting with West.[66]

Already MAGA nuts are turning against West, alleging that his candidacy is a supposed "psychological operation" meant to "destroy MAGA."[67] You know what? Sure, whatever—at this point it really doesn't seem to matter.

West loosely worked with multiple alt-right agitators to help run his campaign, including figures such as Milo Yiannopoulos, Nick Fuentes, and Ali Alexander. By December 2022, Yiannopoulos was ousted (according to Yiannopoulos due to a "mutual conclusion" with West) following the series of disastrous media appearances the prior month.[68] Over the next few months, Yiannopoulos and Alexander (who was still working with West) started feuding with each other, accusing each other of inappropriate behavior, as West reportedly became disinterested in his campaign.[69]

In March 2023, Alexander and Yiannopoulos accused each other of preying on young men, with both posting alleged screenshots of salacious DMs to support their claim.[70] In particular, Alexander was accused of allegedly proposing or sending nude pictures to two underage teenage boys as well as adult men in their 20s.[71] In mid April 2023, Alexander, who previously fervently denied the accusations, released an apology for "inappropriate messages" while insisting that "nothing unlawful has occurred", and claimed that he was being targeted by "fake accusers or literal honey pots eager to frame me."[72] (He must have some odd fetishes if literal honey pots were involved here.)

On October 20 2023, West’s personal attorney Bruce Marks told Rolling StoneWikipedia that the 2024 presidential campaign was dead.[73]

Religion: There and back again[edit]

The second billing: Jesus is King: A Kanye West Film

Ye is an evangelical Christian. His pastor Adam Tyson, a Calvinist preacher and graduate of well-known conservative evangelical John MacArthur's seminary, The Master's University, has preached at his meetings.[74][75] His 2019 album, Jesus is King, centers around his newfound faith. Before this, Ye had referenced his faith in a few songs, including "Jesus Walks". These are all, of course, coming from the same person who released a song called "I Am a God" off of an album titled "Yeezus".

Ye once claimed that he believed that he was "like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector".[76] In addition, he has also claimed that slavery was a choice,[77] though he has since apologized and recanted this claim. He has also stated that he wants to "abolish the 13th amendment" that abolished slavery.[78] Ye later clarified that he "misspoke by saying abolish, amend is the right language."[79][80] He explained:

the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended We are the solution that heals[81]

In 1865, the 13th Amendment stated that no man is destined to slavery or involuntary servitude unless convicted of a crime. This translates to in order to make a freed man a slave all you have to do is convict them of a crime.[79][80]

That last bit is quite right: he's referring to a loophole that the South used to re-enslave many black (and some white) Americans after Reconstruction; it's how The South was able to rebuild its economy after the Civil War.[82]

Other[edit]

Ye has compared himself to almost everyone you can think of, including Adolf Hitler (an unusual case of self-inflicted Godwin's Law),[83] William Shakespeare,[84] Walt Disney, and Steve Jobs (at the same time),[85] Axl Rose, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix (all three at the same time),[86] and Leonardo da Vinci,[87] just to name a few.

On his 2018 album Ye, he talked about his mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. The album cover also referenced this, saying "I hate being / Bi-Polar / its[sic] awesome" in green handwriting.

On October 19th 2021, his name was officially changed to "Ye" (no middle or last name) from Kanye West.[88] This is probably a publicity stunt, but since he went to all the trouble to change it legally, it doesn't look like it's he's going back anytime soon.

In February 22nd 2022, Ye released Donda 2[note 2] exclusively to his $200 Stem Player after a disastrous livestream. Needless to say, his fans were not happy that they had to pay $200 for a essentially unfinished product[note 3] and it had became the most pirated album of all time, behind the Tidal version of The Life of Pablo.

In November 2022 Adidas issued an investigation into Kanye West over allegations of sexual harassment to staff members in relation to a deal he was involved in.[89]

In April 2023, Kanye West was sued by two former teachers who claimed that Donda Academy allegedly violated multiple Department of Education requirements and state regulations. The teachers described an unsafe environment that led to frequent bullying incidents. The lawsuit also alleged that the campus lacked essential personnel, such as janitorial services or a school nurse. The lawsuit detailed many other alleged bizarre policies and rules, such as restricting lunch to solely the sushi provided by the Academy, forbidding utensils, restricting classes to the first floor only, and a school-wide ban on crossword puzzles, color sheets, and even chairs. [90]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Candace Owens, along with The Daily Wire, released a documentary called "The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM" in mid-October 2022.[45] On the Drink Champs podcast, Ye explained that the misinformation he heard on Floyd was "in the documentary".[46]
  2. The "v2.22.22" version
  3. Being that it was recorded immediately after the shoddy release of Donda

References[edit]

  1. Family Guy - Kanye West (Ye) doing crazy things! (Oct 1, 2018) YouTube.
  2. What Is Dragon Energy? Donald Trump Has It, Kanye West Says by James Tennent, April 26, 2018, Newsweek
  3. Kanye West just said 400 years of slavery was a choice by Harmeet Kaur (5:16 AM EDT, Fri May 4, 2018) CNN.
  4. Kanye West's Twitter and Instagram accounts locked over anti-Semitism by Mark Savage (Mon October 10, 2022) BBC.
  5. Kanye West Storms the VMAs Stage During Taylor Swift’s Speech by Daniel Kreps (September 14, 2009) Rolling Stone.
  6. Kanye West Does The Impossible, Makes Alex Jones Look Sane. YouTube, 2 December 2022.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 The bizarre political evolution of Kanye West by Marwa Eltagouri (April 26, 2018 at 7:05 a.m. EDT) The Washington Post.
  8. 10 years ago today, Kanye West said, 'George Bush doesn't care about black people' by Josh Terry (Sep 02, 2015 at 1:45 pm) Chicago Tribune.
  9. president barack obama - kanye west - jackass (actual video) (Sep 17, 2009) YouTube.
  10. Kanye West wants to take back 'ignorant compliment' about Jews (December 22, 2013 14:52) The Jerusalem Post.
  11. Kanye West once wore the Confederate flag. What does he think about it now? by Soraya Nadia McDonald (June 21, 2015 at 4:19 p.m. EDT) The Washington Post.
  12. Kanye West Has Long Been Primed For Radicalization: The rapper’s recent tweets shouldn’t be that surprising if you consider Kanye’s history of seeking validation from elites. by Marcus Jones (April 28, 2018 at 2:30 pm) Buzzfeed News.
  13. People Are Worrying That Kanye West Is Getting Radicalized By The Far Right by Ryan Broderick (Updated on April 23, 2018 at 2:13 pm; Posted on April 23, 2018 at 11:04 am) Buzzfeed News.
  14. Kanye West Calls President Trump 'My Brother' Then Tweets a Selfie in a MAGA Hat by Alana Abramson (April 25, 2018) Time.
  15. What to know about Scott Adams and Candace Owens, the right-wing commentators Kanye West promoted by Cristina López G. (04/24/18 1:29 PM EDT) Media Matters for America.
  16. The Strange Tale of Social Autopsy, the Anti-Harassment Start-up That Descended Into Gamergate Trutherism. by Jesse Singal (Apr. 18, 2016) New York Magazine.
  17. Jordan Peterson on Kanye Backlash: Candace Owens Is Right to Object to 'Victimization Narrative' (April 23, 2018) Fox News.
  18. Revealed: Kanye West Is Watching Conservative Thinker Jordan Peterson’s Videos. Peterson’s Reaction Is Priceless. by Amanda Prestigiacomo (Apr 26, 2018) The Daily Wire.
  19. Kanye West reaffirms vow to run for president in 2024 by Christopher Hooton (25 April 2018 09:35) Independent.
  20. Kanye West says he’s running for president: His announcement is greeted with questions. by Rishika Dugyala (07/05/2020) Politico.
  21. Kanye West takes anti-vaccine, anti-abortion stance in US presidential bid by Ben Beaumont-Thomas (8 Jul 2020 06.56 EDT) The Guardian.
  22. Kanye West Is Apparently, Maybe, Releasing A New Album Called ‘Donda’ Next Week by Bryan Rolli (Jul 18, 2020,07:40pm EDT) Forbes.
  23. Report: Kanye West dropping out of 2020 presidential race by Addy Bink (Jul 15, 2020) KFOR, Oklahoma News 4.
  24. Kanye West Says He’s Done With Trump — Opens Up About White House Bid, Damaging Biden And Everything In Between by Randall Lane (Jul 8, 2020,01:11am EDT) Forbes.
  25. Kanye West Says Harriet Tubman Never Freed Slaves During His Campaign Rally by Scott McDonald (7/19/20 at 8:29 PM EDT) Newsweek.
  26. Kanye Goes on Twitter Rant Following Campaign Rally: 'Kim Tried to Bring a Doctor to Lock Me Up' by Abel Shifferaw (Jul 20, 2020) Complex.
  27. Kanye West presidential ‘campaign’ has people worried about his mental health by Katie Scott (2020 July 20) Global News.
  28. Kanye West's presidential bid needs to end now – for his sake, and ours by Neil McCormick (20 July 2020 • 2:53pm) The Telegraph.
  29. Kanye West Sparks Massive Mental Health Worries During First Presidential Campaign Appearance by Mike Walters (July 19, 2020 at 5:39 pm) The Blast.
  30. Planned Parenthood Blasts Kanye West ‘Offensive’ Abortion Claims: After Kanye West claimed that Planned Parenthood was created by "white supremacists to do the Devil's work," the organization hit back the claims they called "offensive and infantilizing." by Gil Kaufman (07/9/2020) Billboard.
  31. Kanye West: Presidential hopeful wants to run the White House like Wakanda (8 July 2020) BBC.
  32. Kanye West Gets 60,000 Votes For U.S. President Across 12 States – Update by Tom Tapp (November 4, 2020 10:00am) Deadline.
  33. Kanye West election: How many votes did he get? (7 November 2020) BBC.
  34. 34.0 34.1 "Kanye West announces 2024 presidential bid" - BBC (25 November 2022)
  35. "Kanye to Alex Jones: ‘I Like Hitler’" by Nikki McCann Ramirez and Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 2022 December 1
  36. Kanye West faces backlash for wearing shirt with "White Lives Matter" slogan by Caitlin O'Kane (October 4, 2022 / 4:42 PM) CBS News.
  37. "Kanye West responds to 'White Lives Matter T-shirt backlash: 'THEY DO'" by Danielle Long (October 6, 2022, 1:08 PM) ABC News.
  38. Ahmaud Arbery Family: Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ Stunt ‘Legitimizes’ Extremist Behavior by Cheyenne Roundtree (October 4, 2022) Rolling Stone.
  39. His white lives matter shirt and Tucker Carlson appearance prove it: Kanye West doesn’t want a way back by Andrew Lawrence (9 Oct 2022 10.20 EDT) The Guardian.
  40. Twitter follows Instagram in restricting Ye's account after antisemitic posts by Andrew Limbong (October 10, 20221:12 PM ET) NPR.
  41. Fox News Does Awkward About-Face on Kanye West After Antisemitic Rant by Matt Wilstein (Oct. 10, 2022 4:08PM ET) The Daily Beast.
  42. Watch the Disturbing Kanye Interview Clips That Tucker Carlson Didn’t Put on Air: Motherboard obtained footage of Ye making bigoted statements about Jewish people and bizarre claims about "fake children," as well as describing visions of "kinetic energy" cities sent to him by God. by Anna Merlan (October 11, 2022, 12:12pm) Vice.
  43. "Kanye West sparks new controversy with comments about death of George Floyd" by Elizabeth Aubrey, NME, 2022 October 16
  44. 44.0 44.1 "Kanye West Doubles Down on Antisemitic Tropes, Rejects Invitation to Holocaust Museum" by Ben Samuels, Haaretz, 2022 October 16
  45. "Candace Owens Premieres ‘The Greatest Lie Ever Sold’ At Packed House In Nashville" by Tim Meads, Daily Wire, 2022 October 13, archived on 2022 October 13
  46. "Ye claims George Floyd's death was caused by fentanyl; Floyd's family considers lawsuit" by Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2022 October 16
  47. "Kanye West Blames George Floyd’s Death on Fentanyl, Not Police Officer’s Knee" by Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 2022 October 16
  48. "Kanye West Buying Right-Wing ‘Free Speech’ App Parler to Do God Knows What" by Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2022 October 17
  49. "Kanye West’s Deal to Buy Parler Unravels" by Kate Conger, New York Times, 2022 December 1
  50. "Kanye West says he asked Trump to be his 2024 running mate" by Zach Schonfeld, Hill, 2022 November 25
  51. "Trump condemned for dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes" by Edwin Rios, Guardian, 2022 November 26
  52. "Trump’s Latest Dinner Guest: Nick Fuentes, White Supremacist" by Maggie Haberman and Alan Feur, New York Times, 2022 November 25
  53. "‘Welcome to the Resistance Fellas’: Breitbart Destroys Trump For Dining With Neo-Nazi and Kanye West" by Alex Griffing, Mediaite, 2022 November 25
  54. Kanye West tells Alex Jones: "I see good things about Hitler" by Alex Young, Consequence, 2022 December 1
  55. Kanye to Alex Jones: 'I Like Hitler' by Nikki McCann Ramirez and Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 2022 December 1
  56. Rapper Kanye West Spearheads Fascist Clique
  57. "Kanye West's Twitter Account Reactivated; Musk Denies Making Decision" by Luc Olinga, TheStreet, 2022 October 30
  58. https://web.archive.org/web/20221202033622/https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1598521071178698752
  59. "Twitter suspends Kanye's account again", Reuters, 2022 December 2
  60. https://deadline.com/2023/03/kanye-west-claims-likes-jewish-people-again-after-viewing-jonah-hill-in-21-jump-street-1235310182/
  61. Roisin O'Connor (December 13, 2023). "Kanye West wears KKK-style hood at Miami listening party". The Independent.
  62. Minyvonne Burke (December 16, 2023). "Ye makes antisemitic remarks, rants about Hitler, Trump and co-parenting in latest tirade". NBC News.
  63. "The rapper Ye, who has a long history of making antisemitic comments, issues an apology in Hebrew" by Maria Sherman, AP News, 2023 December 26
  64. "KANYE WEST Rocks Burzum Shirt... Neo Nazi Singer's Face Plastered", TMZ, 2024 January 19
  65. Ye Employees Sue, Allege Black Employees Called ‘Slaves,’ Denied Pay by Eboni Boykin-Patterson (July 1, 2024) The Daily Beast.
  66. Adidas launches probe into misconduct allegations against Kanye West (24 November 2022) Reuters
  67. Here’s All The Proof You Need: I’m Convinced Kanye’s Working as a “Psyop” Against MAGA - Sophie O'Hara on WayneDupree.com
  68. "Milo Yiannopoulos Is Out at Kanye West Campaign After Infighting" by Will Sommer and Zachary Petrizzo, Daily Beast, 2022 December 4
  69. "Campaign in Chaos: Kanye West Just Wants to Be ‘Left Alone’" by Will Sommer and Zachary Petrizzo, Daily Beast, 2023 April 14
  70. "Milo Yiannopoulos, Ali Alexander locked in a bitter Telegram feud stemming from Ye’s failed 2024 campaign" by Claire Goforth, Daily Dot, 2023 March 30
  71. "‘Stop the Steal’ Organizer Apologizes After Being Accused of Asking Teen Boys for D*ck Pics" by Will Sommer, Daily Beast, 2023 April 17
  72. "Stop the Steal Founder Ali Alexander Apologizes Amid Allegations of Texting Teens" by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, 2023 April 17
  73. "Kanye is ‘Not a Candidate in 2024,’ His Lawyer Says" by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, 2023 October 20
  74. Special Event: Interview w/ Kanye's Pastor by Apologia Studios (Oct 17, 2019) YouTube.
  75. Who is the Master’s Seminary grad now preaching at Kanye West's Sunday Services? by Jeannie Ortega Law (October 6, 2019) The Christian Post.
  76. Does Kanye West Think He’s God? Or Has He Given Up on God? by Margaret Lyons (6/19/13 at 10:00 AM) New York Magazine: Vulture.
  77. Kanye: Slavery Was A Choice by The Young Turks (May 1, 2018) YouTube.
  78. this represents good and America becoming whole again. We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love by Kanye West (11:27 AM - 30 Sep 2018) Twitter (archived from January 6, 2022).
  79. 79.0 79.1 Kanye West explains his 13th Amendment comments by Lisa Respers France (2:19 PM EDT, Tue October 2, 2018 ) CNN.
  80. 80.0 80.1 TMZ: Kanye West Clarifies 'Abolish' 13th Amendment Remark. YouTube. October 1, 2018.
  81. the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended We are the solution that heals by Kanye West (1:00 PM - 30 Sep 2018) Twitter (archived from May 5, 2022).
  82. See the Wikipedia article on Slavery by Another Name.
  83. Kanye West Compares Himself to Hitler at British Festival: Rapper launched into self-pitying rant midway through his set by Matthew Perpetua (August 8, 2011) Rolling Stone.
  84. ‘I am Shakespeare’ — Kanye’s ego reaches new heights (November 27, 2013 | 11:17pm) Page Six.
  85. Kanye West praises this generation’s Steve Jobs and Walt Disney: himself by Shawn Langlois (April 25, 2018 at 12:36 p.m. ET) Market Watch.
  86. Kanye West: ‘I’m the Number One Living and Breathing Rock Star’: Rapper explains the story behind writing 'I Am a God' by RJ Cubarrubia (June 24, 2013) Rolling Stone.
  87. Kanye West: 'I'm not saying I'm Leonardo da Vinci, but …' US rapper, who has likened himself to Picasso, Shakespeare and Disney, sets sights on Renaissance polymaths ahead of Glastonbury headline slot by Aisha Gani (21 Jun 2015 09.38 EDT) The Guardian.
  88. Kanye West officially changes name to Ye: Los Angeles judge approves request of the rapper, producer and fashion designer to legally change his name (19 Oct 2021 09.19 EDT) The Guardian.
  89. Adidas probing sexual harassment allegations against Ye 25 November 2022 , by KHRISTOPHER J. BROOKS, CBS News.
  90. "Fired Donda Academy Teachers Sue Kanye West, Allege School Had 'Lack of Safety' — Including Only Serving Sushi" 7 April 2023, by Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.