2022 proved to be a tumultuous year for Kanye West a.k.a. Ye. The noted rapper and fashion mogul was embroiled in controversy due to antisemitic statements he made at different points in time. One particular situation that garnered headlines involved the rapper posting anti-Jewish tweet to X (which was still Twitter at the time). It now turns out that sometime after he shared that message, he was interviewed by Cadace Owens. The political pundit just released the lengthy discussion and, during it, West brought up “demons” while attempting to explain his tweet.
Ye’s posted was shared in the fall of 2022 and, at the time, he said, “I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” Also, in the eventually deleted post, which was captured by NPR, the mogul mused that “the funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also”. He ultimately closed out his message by declaring that “you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Sometime after the message was shared, Twitter restricted the “Jesus Walks” performer’s account, which was restored in July 2023.
Candace Owens revealed this week that she spoke with the Yeezy brand founder back in 2022 sometime after he shared that statement. Near the end of their wide-ranging talk (which is on YouTube), they began to discuss alcohol. And it was at that point that Kanye West brought up the infamous tweet. He specifically attributed his social media musings to the effects of liquor, which he says can have a serious effect on a person:
I can say this since this is our podcast – I definitely was drinking when I put up the defcon tweet. You know whose alcohol I had inside me? … Hennessy. It turns us gray. Literally, the demons…
As mentioned, that tweet wasn’t the only instance in which the “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” rapper made disparaging remarks against members of the Jewish faith. In October 2022, Ye also appeared on a since-removed episode of the Drink Champs podcast, where he said, “I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?” And, in late 2023, he and Chris Brown came under fire for allegedly laughing at an antisemitic rap during a public event, though Brown denied having done so. And, in the documentary special The Trouble with KanYe, his former associate, Alex Klein, accused him of making more antisemitic claims.
Not only did Kanye West receive backlash from fans, fellow celebrities and antisemitism watchdog groups after he shared his statement, but he was also hit with a string of professional losses. Adidas cut ties with him as did CAA, Balenciaga, Vogue and more. There even came a point at which West posted about his financial setbacks, declaring that he’d been “beat to a pulp.”
By December 2023, the Grammy-winning hip hop artist issued an apology on social media, which was written in Hebrew (as noted by the Associated Press). Ye also seemed to express some sort of remorse in March of that same year. At the time, he posted that watching Jonah Hill’s 21 Jump Street “made [him] like Jewish people again”.
As for Candace Owens, she has history with Ye, as they both received backlash after wearing White Lives Matter shirts at a fashion show. It was also looking like Owens might get dragged into a $250 lawsuit involving Ye and the family of George Floyd over alleged harassment, defamation and more. Owens explained that she’s only now posted her interview with the music star because she now has a platform to share it on. As of this writing, Ye himself has yet to comment on their conversation.
