Kanye West dares Elon Musk to ban him by handing Twitter account over to Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones
Infowars host was banned from Twitter in 2018 for ‘abusive’ behaviour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The rapper formerly known as Kanye West said on Thursday he plans to give Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and right-wing conspiracy monger Alex Jones the keys to his Twitter account, in protest against Elon Musk’s stance that he won’t let Jones back on the platform after a 2018 ban.
“I got a Twitter account and today I’m gonna have Nick and Alex tweet from my account,” Mr West, who now goes by Ye, said on Jones’s Infowars show, part of an antisemitic rant where he praised Hitler and attacked Jewish figures in Hollywood.
“I do find it a little bit hypocritical that Elon Musk said he was purchasing Twitter to create a free speech environment,” Mr Fuentes, West’s 2024 presidential campaign adviser, added.
“He says that free speech is the thing that’s going to save the West and our civilization, but yet he has taken exception to you Alex for some seemingly specific reason, maybe personal to him but certainly not principled.”
The Independent has contacted Twitter for comment.
Later on Thursday, tweets began being posted on Ye’s account that appeared to come from Fuentes.
“Christ is King — America First, GROYPER! - NJF” read one tweet, a seeming reference to Fuentes, a Holocaust denier, and his reactionary “groyper” followers.
In another tweet, the Ye account indicated Alex Jones had written a previous post declaring, “I love the first amendment! Love live Ye!”
Elsewhere during the interview, Jones offered lukewarm challenges to West’s antisemitism.
“You’re not Hitler, you’re not a Nazi, so you don’t deserve to be demonised,” Jones told West at one point.
“Well, I see good things about Hitler also,” replied West.
It’s not the first time West and his camp have attacked the new Twitter owner.
Earlier this month, an unconfirmed video began circulating on social media, where the rapper and fashion designer said he had an “issue” with Musk for not reinstating Jones amid a wave of previously deactivated accounts being let back on the platform.
"Alex Jones is a Christian,” West said in the clip. “But you have a person who doesn’t believe that Christ is Lord going to buy an American media outlet and picking and choosing who can be on the platform. Jesus is Lord."
In 2018, Twitter permanently suspended Jones’s Twitter account, saying his posts violated “our abusive behaviour policy.”
That same year, YouTube, Apple, and Facebook banned the right-wing media figure, who owes more than $1bn in judgements for spreading false information about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass school shooting, where 26 people were killed.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments