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Why Ye Has Been Locked Out of Instagram Again

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West has posted antisemitic remarks multiple times.

Daniel Van Boom Senior Writer
Daniel Van Boom is an award-winning Senior Writer based in Sydney, Australia. Daniel Van Boom covers cryptocurrency, NFTs, culture and global issues. When not writing, Daniel Van Boom practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reads as much as he can, and speaks about himself in the third person.
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Daniel Van Boom
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4 min read
Kanye West in a baseball cap and hooded sweatshirt, with a Balenciaga boxing mouthguard

Ye has been suspended from Instagram twice in less than a month. 

Edward Berthelo/Getty Images

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been banned from Instagram for 30 days, the rapper and fashion designer said Monday on his account on Parler, the social media platform he agreed to purchase on Oct. 17. Ye's suspension from Instagram marks the second time in less than a month that he's been locked out of his account over his activity there. In early October, Ye was locked out over antisemitic posts.

Anti-Jewish remarks got him into trouble this time as well. The suspension, he said, came after he posted a screenshot of a private message to Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons in which Ye said he was going to make "you know who" have better contracts and business practices. "I gotta get the Jewish business people to make the contracts fair or die trying," Ye wrote in his message.

Ye's representation didn't respond to a request for comment about his suspension. 

Meta, which owns Instagram, confirmed to NBC News that it deleted the content and restricted Ye's account for violating company policies. Meta didn't respond to a request for further comment. 

Monday's Instagram suspension marks the latest of Ye's anti-Jewish remarks. Since his first antisemitic social media posts early last month, multiple companies have cut ties with the rapper as well as others who worked for him. On Oct. 27, Ye posted to Instagram that he lost $2 billion in one day. 

Here's what you should know about Ye's posts and the aftermath. 

Why were Ye's social media accounts restricted in the first place? 

In October, Ye was locked out of Twitter for tweeting that he was going to sleep but that when he awoke he'd be "going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE." He added that "you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda." 

Twitter didn't delete the rapper's account, but it did lock it, with the antisemitic tweets removed. "The account was locked for violating Twitter's policies," a company spokesperson said.

Before the incendiary Oct. 7 tweet, Ye hadn't been active on Twitter since November 2020, following his failed bid for the presidency, and appeared to move to the platform over the weekend after having his Instagram account restricted.

His comments have been roundly condemned. In a tweet, the Anti-Defamation League said there is "no excuse for his propagating of white supremacist slogans and classic #antisemitism."

While Meta confirmed to NBC on Oct. 8 that West's Instagram account had been restricted, it didn't specify which post prompted the action. It seems the cause was a series of text messages between West and Sean "Diddy" Combs that West published on Instagram and that were later deleted from his page. In their conversation, as reported by HipHopDX, West said he would "use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me." 

Diddy had contacted West about a "White Lives Matter" shirt West wore to the Paris Fashion Show. West has drawn criticism for the shirt, including from the the Anti-Defamation League, which categorizes "White Lives Matter" as a white supremacist phrase. In an interview with Fox's Tucker Carlson, West said he wore the shirt because he thought it was "funny."

"Kanye West has more Twitter followers than there are Jews in the world," Carly Pildis, director of community engagement at the Anti-Defamation League, wrote on Twitter. "There are an estimated 14.8 million Jews and he has over 30 million followers. American Jews are experiencing a historic rise in antisemitic incidents. His actions are extremely dangerous and must be called out."

Some of Ye's former employees and collaborators told NBC News that the rapper has praised Hitler and use antisemitic language several times, according to a report Wednesday. A former employee who alleged witnessing Ye praising Hitler and Nazis in business meetings received a settlement. Ye denied the former employee's claims in the agreement, NBC said. 

What other pushback has Ye faced? 

Weeks after Ye's initial posts, fashion house Balenciaga said it no longer had a relationship with the rapper. The two had partnered to create a clothing line for retailer Gap. Gap also said it would remove the line from its stores

Adidas said on Oct. 25 that it had terminated its partnership with Ye. The shoe company produced the Yeezy line of footwear that was designed by the rapper. Adidas says it would cease any sales of Yeezy shoes, which would mean a loss to the company of $250 million. 

Creative Artists Agency dropped Ye as a client. His divorce attorney Samantha Spector said she also would no longer work with Ye. JP Morgan Chase said it ended its banking relationship with Ye's Yeezy company. 

A documentary about Ye from MRC Entertainment was shelved by the production studio, citing his antisemitic remarks. Ye and his record label, G.O.O.D. Music, are no longer a part of Def Jam Recording. Apple Music removed the Kanye West Essentials playlist from the platform. 

Ye's non-music endeavors have also felt the effects of his social media posts. Donda Sports, the rapper's sports agency, lost two athletes after his marks: LA Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown.

Donda Academy, an unaccredited Christian private school founded by Ye and located in Simi Valley, California, closed its doors on Oct. 27 for the remainder of the 2022-2023 academic year.