The Anti-Defamation League counted 59 incidents in which antisemites cited the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.In an interview last year, Ye denied the Holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler.
Overall, ADL researchers found there was a 59% increase in antisemitic incidents last year.Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, did more than just derail his own career when he began last year to publicly proclaim his love for the leader of Nazi Germany and hatred of Jews that he claimed had wronged him — he appeared to inspire dozens of antisemitic incidents across the United States, according to a report released Thursday, including a physical attack by a perpetrator who yelled, "Kanye 2024!"
Beginning last October, Ye gave a string of interviews in which he espoused rank bigotry, including an appearance with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in which he declared: "I like Hitler." He also sparked outrage when he brought white nationalist provocateur Nick Fuentes with him to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Donald Trump — a meeting that came roughly a month after he was dropped by Adidas over his "unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous" comments.
The celebrity endorsement of antisemitism was followed by a spree of hate by emboldened bigots, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which counted no fewer than 59 incidents in the last three months of 2022 in which bigots directly referenced Ye, including two assaults. At least 10 incidents of harassment or antisemitic vandalism occurred in schools across the country that referenced Ye's remarks; in Los Angeles, neo-Nazis dropped a banner on a highway overpass declaring, "Kanye was right about the jews"; and at a Jewish cemetery in Illinois, gravestones were desecrated with swastikas and the words, "Kanye was rite."
The incidents have continued through this year, with white supremacists setting up booths on college campuses in Florida and Alabama with a banner that read: "Ye is right, change my mind."
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