The rapper’s decision comes after watching Jonah Hill’s performance in 21 Jump Street
US rap artist Kanye West has watched the comedy 21 Jump Street, starring actor Jonah Hill, and it has changed his outlook on Jewish people, he wrote on Instagram on Saturday. The musician has been at the center of multiple anti-Semitism scandals.
“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street made me like Jewish people again,” West said. “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people,” he elaborated, possibly referring to himself in the post that has already garnered 1.4 million likes.
West concluded the post by thanking Hill and saying he loves him.
The rapper, who legally changed his name to ‘Ye,’ is a multi-Grammy award winning artist and producer. In October 2022, Ye posted to Twitter that he was about to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” a reference to the US defense readiness alert system. The tweet was removed and West’s account was suspended. In December, West was a guest on the controversial InfoWars podcast, hosted by Alex Jones. During the show, the rapper stated that he “sees good things about Hitler.”
West’s Twitter account was reinstated by the platform’s new CEO, Elon Musk, in November. However, the very next month the artist found himself banned once again after he tweeted an image of a swastika inside the Star of David.
West’s anti-Semitic remarks have cost him partnerships with multiple brands like Vogue, Balenciaga and Gap. German sneaker brand Adidas announced a “review” of their billion-dollar deal with Ye, which impacted the performer’s net worth, causing him to lose his billionaire status. Ironically, West had boasted in October that “I can say anti-Semitic s**t and Adidas cannot drop me.”
The Anti-Defamation League released a report in February counting at least 30 anti-Semitic incidents directly connected to West and his beliefs. The organization said that those instances “demonstrate the ongoing influence of Ye’s conspiratorial, bigoted rants.”
The movie that apparently caused the 180-degree turn in the artist's views, 21 Jump Street, is a 2012 buddy cop action comedy. It was a commercial and critical success, praised for its humor. Jewish-American comedian Jonah Hill played the character of Morton Schmidt in the film. He has not yet commented on his performance having such a profound effect on West.
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