Kanye West suspended from Twitter after incendiary Hitler comments

Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Copyright Evan Agostini/2020 Invision
By Euronews with AFP/Reuters
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"Every human being has brought something of value, especially Hitler," said the US rapper. "I love Hitler."

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Kanye 'Ye' West has been banned from Twitter over his deeply controversial comments about Hitler, owner of the social media platform Elon Musk announced on Thursday.

The US rapper, who is said to struggle with his mental health, confessed his admiration for Hitler and the Nazis during an interview with Alex Jones, a far-right radio show host. 

"I'm tired of labels, every human being has brought something of value, especially Hitler," said West. "I love Hitler."

Announcing that his account would be suspended, Musk said the multi-award-winning artist had violated Twitter's "rule against incitement to violence". 

West's was one of several high-profile Twitter accounts that were reinstated after billionaire Musk took over the platform in October. 

West, who recently caused another scandal by voicing anti-Semitic remarks, says he has bipolar disorder. 

Earlier in the year, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian appealed to fans and the wider public to show "compassion and empathy ... so we can get through this." 

West now calls himself Ye and wore a black hood covering his entire face during the interview on Thursday.

Speaking to Jones, a prominent conspiracy theorist who has promoted white nationalists, West launched into a tirade about sin, pornography and the devil. 

"I see positive things about Hitler too," he said. "This guy ... invented the highways, invented the microphone that I use as a musician. You can't say publicly that this person has done anything good, and I've had enough of it." 

Jones tried to counter West, saying that the "Nazis were thugs and did very bad things". 

"But they did good things too," the rapper replied. "We have to stop insulting Nazis all the time... I love Nazis."

West has been dropped by many leading brands, with the US Republican party deleting a tweet that appeared to support the rapper after his comments, reports the Guardian. 

Sports brand Adidas notably cut ties with the rapper at the end of October because of remarks deemed anti-Semitic.

In early October, West displayed the slogan "White Lives Matter" during a parade in Paris, hijacking the name of the anti-racist movement "Black Lives Matter".

This sparked a deluge of condemnation online and from many personalities. 

In a statement, the Republican Jewish Coalition denounced Kanye West as a "vile and repugnant cultist who targeted the Jewish community with Nazi-like threats and libel."

“The conservatives who made the mistake of tolerating Kanye West must be clear that he is an outcast,” added the group.

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