Only a matter of days after being allowed back on Twitter, Kanye West has once again been suspended.
Chief executive Elon Musk, the arbiter of West’s return to the platform, confirmed that West had violated rules relating to incitement of violence. West had tweeted an image that appeared to show a swastika inside the star of David.
“I tried my best,” Musk said after confirming the permanent ban. As part of his “dedication” to free speech, Musk had previously opted to bring back controversial figures, reviving the previously suspended accounts of former President Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene among others.
I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2022
“Sorry but you have gone too far. This is not love,” Musk texted West before his account was suspended.
“Who made you the judge,” West responded, according to screenshots posted by the rapper.
Before his recent reinstatement, the rapper, legally known as Ye, had been locked out of his account two months ago for hate speech towards Jews. He was temporarily banned from Instagram at the same time.
Parler failure
The ban adds to other bad news for Ye.
The rapper and designer had announced plans in October to acquire Parler, a platform embraced by conservatives who departed Twitter over allegations of political censorship and were drawn to the smaller platform's "free speech" policy. But on Tuesday, Parler announced that the deal had fallen through.
“This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November,” the company said in a statement. “Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community.”
Earlier on Thursday, Ye also appeared on a show by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and spoke positively about Adolf Hitler.
Kanye West's downfall continues
The ban comes amid a slew of outrage, accusations and other action taken against Ye, including an investigation launched by Adidas into his alleged ‘toxic’ culture of porn, bullying, and mind games at Yeezy, the fashion label collaboration between him and the German sportswear company.
Ye had already been dropped by Adidas and other brands including GAP and Balenciaga for antisemitic and racist comments earlier this year — although reports say that he had been airing such views for years behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, West has already lost over $1.5 billion from his net worth since October, and is set to pay Kim Kardashian $200,000 per month as part of a divorce settlement confirmed on Tuesday.
