Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been restricted after online users complained to the social media platforms about a recent spate of posts they said were anti-Semitic.
West was locked out of his Instagram by Facebook parent Meta Platforms on Friday, after which he took to Twitter, where he tweeted on Saturday for the first time in two years.
In his first post on Twitter since 2020, he shared a blurry photo of himself and Meta Platforms founder Mark Zuckerberg singing karaoke.
“Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off instagram?” the tweet read.
West’s offending post came after a reported exchange with fellow rapper Diddy that some users deemed anti-Semitic. Earlier in the week, Diddy – whose real name is Sean Combs – criticised West for the “White Lives Matter” T-shirts he debuted at Paris fashion week.
Kanye West sparked criticism with these T-shirts at Paris fashion week.
Later on Saturday, West followed up with “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.
“You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
That post has since been removed by Twitter due to a violation of its policies.
West’s account was also locked “due to a violation of Twitter’s policies”, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.
Moving to lock the rapper’s account was noteworthy because billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he would buy Twitter and calls himself a free speech absolutist, had welcomed West’s return to the platform and replied to a post by the rapper tweeting: “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”
The American Jewish Committee issued a statement following the reported exchange between Diddy and West – who has legally changed his name to Ye.
“Kanye West has had a streak of rants this week that is remarkable even by his standards,” it read.
“Ye needs to see that words matter, especially a vicious anti-Semitic comment that recently surfaced on social media. If he wants to have any credibility as a commentator on social issues, let alone as a musician, maybe he can start by figuring out how to make a point without fomenting hatred of Jews.”
West has a history of erratic online posts. Earlier this year, he was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours after directing racial slurs at comedian Trevor Noah.
Before he took to Twitter early on Saturday, West also had his Instagram account suspended after a since-removed post in which he invoked anti-Semitic tropes, accusing Diddy of being controlled by “the Jewish people”.
The company said on Saturday it had imposed temporary restrictions on posting, commenting and messaging on West’s account.
-with AAP
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