Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has faced significant backlash and lost numerous brand partnerships due to his past anti-Semitic remarks. Despite this, he has seemingly attempted to move forward and has apologized to the Jewish community. On August 7, Candace Owens released a previously unseen interview with Ye, recorded on October 17, 2022, where they discussed various topics, including religion and the controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirt incident.
During the interview, Ye addressed his infamous tweet about going “DEFCON 3 on Jewish people,” clarifying that it was meant to highlight negative experiences he had with certain Jewish individuals in business. He stated, “When I said DEFCON 3, I didn’t get an opportunity to say what that meant, but it meant I’m going to call out all these things that have been done to me specifically by Jewish people.” He further expressed a willingness to embrace the label of being called anti-Semitic, saying, “I’m not afraid of that title.”
At the time of the interview, major companies like Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga were cutting ties with him, a situation he described as liberating. In 2023, Ye stirred controversy again with his song “VULTURES,” where he questioned accusations of anti-Semitism and made provocative statements about his relationships.
Additionally, Ye discussed what he perceives as a “Black Holocaust,” linking it to abortion rates among African Americans. He noted the disparity in attention given to the Holocaust compared to the number of Black lives lost through abortion, asserting, “Over 20 million darker Jews, Black people, have been aborted.” He expressed frustration over the lack of dialogue on this topic, suggesting that conversations about abortion rates are often dismissed when raised with Jewish individuals.