WASHINGTON – Kanye West‘s Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted over the weekend, with the social media platforms saying they removed the rapper’s posts after online users condemned them as antisemitic.
He was first locked out of his Instagram by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc on Friday after which he took to Twitter, where he tweeted on Saturday for the first time in two years.
West’s first post on Twitter since 2020 was a blurry photo of the rapper and Meta Platforms founder Mark Zuckerberg singing karaoke. The tweet said: “Look at this Mark How you gone kick me off instagram.”
West then tweeted: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” That post, in which he said he wasn’t anti-Semitic, has been removed by Twitter due to a violation of its policies. His account was also locked, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.
The step by Twitter Inc to lock the rapper’s account was noteworthy because billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he would buy Twitter and calls himself a free speech absolutist, had welcomed West’s return to the platform and replied to a post by the rapper tweeting: “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!”
West has also previously made erratic online posts. Earlier this year, he was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours after he directed racial slurs at comedian Trevor Noah.
Before he took to Twitter early on Saturday, West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, had his Instagram account suspended after a since-removed post in which he invoked anti-Semitic tropes, accusing a musician of being controlled by “the Jewish people.”
The company said on Saturday temporary restrictions on posting, commenting and messaging were imposed on West’s Instagram account.
The suspension comes days after German sporting goods maker Adidas said it has put under review its business partnership with West.
CNBC, which first reported the news, said West had been publicly critical of Adidas and its CEO and told the broadcaster that the German group was copying his ideas. Adidas has been partnering with West since 2013, CNBC said.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Diane Craft)
