Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, has been suspended from Twitter shortly after posting an image of a swastika inside the Star of David. Twitter CEO Elon Musk confirmed the suspension late on Thursday, noting that Ye had “again violated our rule against incitement to violence.”
Kanye West suspended from Twitter after posting a swastika© Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
While Ye returned to Twitter in recent weeks, his latest suspension appears to be permanent. “I tried my best,” says Elon Musk. “Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”
Ye also posted an uncomplimentary photo of Elon Musk shortly before his suspension, prompting Musk to clarify “that his account is being suspended for incitement to violence, not an unflattering pic of me being hosed by Ari.”
Ye had also planned to purchase Parler, a social media site that styles itself as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter. Parlement Technologies, the parent company of Parler, confirmed on Thursday that Ye will no longer be purchasing the platform. The announcement came shortly after Ye went on an antisemitic rant while appearing on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars program. Ye also praised Adolf Hitler on the show, saying “I see good things about Hitler.”
Ye has increasingly expressed support for right-wing causes in recent years, and met with former president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, alongside white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Ye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and went public with his mental health struggles in a 2019 interview with David Letterman.