Kanye West has thanked Adam Sandler for “the love” after the comedian appeared to make a pointed reference to the controversial rapper during Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special.
In celebration of the long-running sketch show’s 50th year on air, Sandler, 58, appeared on Sunday’s three-hour episode to perform a special tribute song.
Throughout the comedic tune, he listed off several inside jokes and references to his time on the show, including “Tuesday late-night pizza” and “writers then getting wasted at the after party.”
“50 years of finding out your favorite musician’s antisemitic,” Sandler sang in another line. His apparent nod to West was not lost on the rapper, who later tweeted: “Adam Sandler thank you for the love.”
West, who has legally gone by Ye since 2021, was infamously dropped by several brands, including Adidas and Balenciaga, following a string of antisemitic comments he made in December 2022.
The following year, he issued an apology to the “Jewish community” for his remarks, vowing that he was committed to “learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.” However, he has only continued to spread more antisemitic rhetoric.
Earlier this month, West sparked further outrage when he declared he “loved Hitler” and that he was “a Nazi” in an alarming rant on X.
He’s since been dropped by his talent agency over his latest actions, which have also involved selling T-shirts with a swastika on them on his online shop.
Adam Sandler Thank you for the love
— ye (@kanyewest) February 19, 2025
Amid the “CARNIVAL” artist’s recent controversies, a fake AI video showing Jewish celebrities — including Sandler, Scarlett Johannson and David Schwimmer — giving West the finger went viral.
In the clip, the celebrities are depicted wearing a white T-shirt showing a hand containing a Star of David with the middle finger raised above the word “KANYE.”
Johannson denounced the AI video, saying in a statement: “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
Other celebrities depicted in the video have also spoken out separately about West’s actions. Friends star Schwimmer wrote in an Instagram post alongside images of West declaring himself a Nazi: “This is so 2022. We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk. Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence.”
