Kanye, Kyrie, and Anti-semitism

Anti-semitism has been the topic of lots of discourse and discussion recently as multiple high profile celebrities such as Kanye West and Kyrie Irving have been accused of anti-Jewish comments. West has a history of strange antisemetic remarks, with ranging degrees of extremism. He’s been known to criticize Jewish higher-ups in the music industry. It has even been reported that West has made comments praising Adolf Hitler and at one point, aimed to name his 2018 album after the Nazi leader. Earlier last month, West sparked lots of online controversy after posting an image of him and conservative phenom Candace Owens sporting shirts that read “White Lives Matter.” Throughout his career, Ye has been known to make over the top statements to draw shock value and stay in news cycles. This instance, though, turned more heads than usual. The ‘White Lives Matter” group is identified as a “Neo-Nazi” hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center. The group was created as a racist counter to the “Black Lives Matter” movement and has used its platform to spread white supremacist ideals.

Regardless of the intention behind the picture, West using his massive platform to promote a violent hate group is completely out of line. Despite this post, Kanye didn’t face any significant financial repercussions and his social influence didn’t falter. Then, he proceeded to post an overtly antisemetic tweet where he threatened to “go death con  3 on Jewish people.” Since the tweet, there has been a significant rise of antisemetic demonstrations globally. Most notably, a banner was hung over a Los Angeles highway that read “Kanye Is Right.” A week later, a message was projected at the annual Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville that read “Kanye is right about the Jews.” This is why Kanye’s post isn’t “just a tweet.” When a celebrity with so much influence decides to promote a hateful sentiment, it’s bound to spark bigotry. In this case, multiple well known hate groups have used Kanye’s remarks as a springboard to normalize their promotion of anti semitism and racism. Last week, West lost his partnership with Adidas, causing his net worth to plummet over an estimated billion dollars. Prior to losing his brand deal, West issued a meek apology. None of this even comes close to making up for his dangerous tweet, because he can’t redact what he said. The ramifications of his hate speech will continue to affect Jewish communities for the foreseeable future. 

Unfortunately, this is not the only example of prominent anti-semitism from a high profile figure. Kyrie Irving, starting point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, has recently come under fire after sharing and endorsing an extremist antisemetic film. The film promotes anti-Jewish stereotypes and endorses false conspiracies about the Holocaust. When given the chance to condemn the movie that he shared, Irving declined to apologize or admit that he was in the wrong. After several days of deliberation, Irving was suspended from the NBA. Following Irving’s suspension, celebrities like the Celtic’s Jaylen Brown and TV personality Nick Cannon have come to the player’s defense. The Nets star is expected to return this Sunday, after only missing a handful of games. The NBA’s soft response to Irving is meek and frankly, scary. Irving’s comments and the response to them reflect a larger issue. As celebrities become more willing to express their antisemetic views, people feel more justified voicing their own bigotry. We’ve seen hate groups become more comfortable with voicing theirs. Celebrities making ignorant comments is one thing. Celebrities making hateful comments that mobilize extremists is another.

By Sawyer Sugarman