Hip-hop star Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments in portions of a Fox News interview that were edited from the show before it aired earlier this week.
The comments, which championed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes, came amid an uproar over a number of other anti-Jewish comments from the West in recent days.
Fox News on Thursday and Friday aired the interview between West and host Tucker Carlson, including controversial comments about Jared Kushner that some called anti-Semitic.
On Tuesday, Motherboard, part of Vice Media, released parts of the interview that were edited from the last broadcast.
West’s digressions in the unreleased segments included tangled conspiracies about Jews and his belief that “fake children” had been planted in his home to manipulate his own children.
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West has spoken out about his mental health issues in the past, including his bipolar disorder, which he said makes him “hyper paranoid” during manic episodes. Some of his comments in the Carlson interview were grammatically confused and unclear.
The hip-hop star, now Ye, linked Jews to financial manipulation in the interview, echoing a long-standing anti-Semitic stereotype.
“My children go to a school that teaches complex kwanzaa to black children. I prefer my children to know Hanukkah than Kwanzaa. At the very least, it would come with some financial engineering,” he told the far-right cable host.
In another clip released by Motherboard, West said Planned Parenthood conspired to control Jews with the help of Margaret Sanger.
Sanger was a preterm birth control advocate whose work led to the founding of Planned Parenthood. She has been a racist and eugenicist, has disavowed the organization’s views and is the subject of conspiracies to control black people.
“Planned Parenthood was developed by Margaret Sanger, a well-known eugenicist, with the KKK to control the Jewish population,” West said.
Then he seemed to claim that all blacks are Jews. The false claim was used to promote anti-Semitism, including by black Hebrew Israelites, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The black Hebrew Israelites, who have also made anti-white and anti-LGBTQ claims, have said that they are the real Israelites and that “so-called” Jews have stolen their identities. The group is entirely separate from Jewish People of Color.
“When I say Jew, I mean the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, the race, the people known as the black race, really is what our people are, the blood of Christ. That’s what I believe in as a Christian,” West said. Earlier this week, he said he couldn’t be anti-Semitic because “black people are actually Jews.”
In another comment, West seemed to compare blacks judging one another to “a Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how well they dance.”
“I mean, that’s probably a bad example, people get mad at that shit, but another thing they do … I probably want to edit that out,” he said.
West also said he was the “first Latino president,” adding, “I trust Latinos when I, you know, when I work with them.”
“I trust them more than — I’m sure certain other business people, you know,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to.
The release of the footage added to a turbulent week that saw West attack Jews on a number of occasions.
In a portion of the interview that was not abridged, West said Kushner brokered the Abraham Accords for financial reasons. Kushner is Jewish and served as senior White House adviser to his father-in-law, former US President Donald Trump. West has previously met with Trump and endorsed the former president.
“You know, he made those peace treaties,” he began. “I just think it was to make money.”
“I just think they’re all about making money. I don’t think they have the ability to do anything themselves. I think they’re born into money,” West continued, apparently referring to Kushner and other members of his family West had spoken about, including Kushner’s brother Josh. West also said the Kushners acted like a “handler” towards Trump.
West also wrote on Instagram: “F**K JOSH KUSHNER.”
Rapper Kanye West shows then-US President Donald Trump a photo of a hydrogen airplane during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House October 11, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
On Friday, West sparked further controversy when he posted on Instagram a series of text messages he allegedly exchanged with hip-hop star Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy or Diddy.
In one of the messages, West said, “I’m using you as an example to show the Jewish people to call me, that no one can threaten or influence me.” West captioned the Instagram post, “Jesus is a Jew.”
The dispute between the two erupted after West wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Paris fashion show and Combs confronted him about it. The controversial slogan has been described as a “white racist phrase” by the Anti-Defamation League.
West was banned from Instagram following the posts. He attacked Mark Zuckberberg, the Jewish owner of Instagram’s parent company Meta, formerly known as Facebook.
West then took to Twitter to write, “I’m a little tired tonight but when I wake up I’m going to the death penalty. You guys have been playing with me and trying to blackmail anyone who defies your agenda,” in one of his first tweets in two years.
“Death con 3” appears to be an erroneous use of the US military’s DEFCON 3 elevated alert status.
Elsewhere, he said, “Who do you think created the abandonment culture?”
Who do you think created the Cancel culture?
— her (@kanyewest) October 9, 2022
Twitter restricted West’s account and removed the tweet attacking Jews.
West has over 18 million followers on Instagram and 31.4 million on Twitter.
A few Republican figures have come to West’s defense.
Republican Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona said, “Pray for Kanye West. They will throw everything they have at him just because he is telling the truth.”
Mark Meuser, a Republican candidate for the US Senate in California, said: “Whether or not you agree with Kanye West’s views, isn’t it nice to finally see someone who isn’t afraid to go against the status quo, where everyone else is his industrial parrots?”
Whether or not you agree with Kanye West’s views, isn’t it nice to finally see someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo that everyone else in his industry is parroting?
— Mark Meuser for the US Senate (@MarkMeuser) October 7, 2022
Conservative author and commentator Candace Owens said“If you are an honest person, you did not think that this tweet is anti-Semitic.”
Todd Rokita, Indiana Attorney General said, “The constant hypocrisy of the media is at an all-time high. They have now haunted Kanye for his new clothing line, his independent thinking and for having opposite thoughts from the Hollywood norm.”
Missouri Attorney General and US Senate nominee Eric Schmitt said, “America needs a Kanye West Kid Rock Tour. Let’s go!”
West’s comments were condemned by Jewish organizations including the Jewish Democratic Council of Americathe American Jewish Committeethe Jewish Federations of North Americathe League Against Defamationthe Conference of Presidents and the American Jewish Congress.
“Achievement. Infidelity. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are anti-Semitic tropes,” the ADL said. “A lot of these myths have been influencing Kanye West’s comments lately, and that’s dangerous.”