Twitter-owner Elon Musk restored the account of American rapper Kanye West after it was banned nearly eight months ago over alleged offensive tweets. West, who now goes by Ye, was accused of breaking the platform’s rules against inciting violence.
Ye has not posted anything new since returning to X, the new name for Twitter. Ye’s account on X shows his last post from December 1, 2022, the day before it was suspended. West had 32.2 million followers on Twitter at the time of his ban.
Also read: Twitter Competitor Parler in Limbo After Massive Layoffs at Parent Firm
Twitter restricts West’s account
Kanye West will not be allowed to make money using his account, and advertisements will not appear alongside the rapper’s posts, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Twitter officials and another source familiar with the matter.
The company reinstated Ye’s account after he promised not to post anti-Jewish or harmful language on the social media platform, the report said.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1598521964787896321?s=20
Twitter suspended West’s account in December after he posted a symbol that combined a swastika and a Star of David, the famed Jewish king. It happened just two weeks after Musk had restored West’s account, along with that of former US President Donald Trump.
The swastika, an emblem of Nazi Germany, is a symbol of hate and intolerance. West was also briefly banned on Instagram in October after posting anti-semitic messages. Both X and Instagram later removed the offensive messages.
At the time, Musk said that “I tried my best” to keep West’s account active, but the singer had violated the rules again. Elon Musk said he would make freedom of speech the foundation of his leadership of Twitter. The billionaire calls himself “a free speech absolutist”.
Under fire West tries to buy Parler
Kanye West has been under fire for antisemitism for the past year. His racist and anti-Jewish comments led to a number of brands cutting ties with the American rapper, including Adidas, Foot Locker, Gap, and Balenciaga.
West’s talent agency, CAA, also cut ties with him, as did Studio MRC, which had planned to release a documentary about him but decided not to air the film because of his problematic remarks.
The loss of Adidas was arguably the biggest blow to West, as the sportswear company had distributed his Yeezy brand since 2013 and is responsible for a large portion of his wealth. Forbes estimates that West lost $1.5 billion of his $2 billion net worth after the Adidas deal went sour. He is currently worth around $400 million.
Following his ban on Twitter and Instagram, West tried to purchase Parlement Technologies, owner of the budding Twitter rival Parler. West and Parlement revealed the acquisition deal in October, with Ye saying he would protect “conservative opinions” on the platform.
However, Parlement terminated the deal in December after West praised Nazis and said, “I like Hitler” during an appearance on Alex Jones’ Infowars show. Parlement said the decision to terminate was “mutual” and “was made in the interest of both parties.”
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