At this year’s Super Bowl, Kanye West, or Ye as he now prefers to be called, bought one of the most coveted ads of the event, but instead of opting for a conventional ad piece, he decided to do something unexpected: a video shot with his iPhone, revealing that his commercial budget had been redirected to new teeth. But of course, still in the dentist’s chair, he didn’t forget to leave a message for his followers: \u2018Go to yeezy.com\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What he didn’t say was that upon entering the site, users were met with an error screen. The reason? The only product available was a white, $20 T-shirt with a swastika prominently displayed on the chest. If you’ve been staying away from X, this latest turn of events is but the latest chapter in a parade of anti-Semitic and misogynistic posts by West: \u2018I’m a Nazi\u2019, \u2018I have dominion over my wife\u2019 and \u2018I love Hitler\u2026 now what bitches\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His X account, of course, was suspended shortly after the Super Bowl, along with a message announcing his goodbye to the platform: \u2018I’m logging off Twitter. Thanks to Elon for giving me the space to vent. Using this space has been like an ayahuasca trip. I thank everyone who gave me their energy. I will see you again. Good afternoon and good evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appearance of the swastika on his merchandising is not exactly surprising, but that does not make it any less dangerous. While Ye insists it is all a \u2018social experiment\u2019 to avoid responsibility, his provocations about Hitler and the swastika T-shirt come at a critical time, marked by increasingly potent far-right rhetoric and a global political climate that continues to veer towards conservatism. And, of course, we can’t forget Elon Musk’s own symbolic gesture at Trump’s rally last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeezy’s online shop, finally, was taken down by Shopify. \u2018All merchants must adhere to our platform rules,\u2019 a company spokesperson said. \u2018This merchant did not engage in authentic business practices and violated our terms, which is why it was removed from Shopify.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For its part, the Anti-Defamation League was quick to issue a blunt condemnation. \u2018As if we didn’t already have enough evidence of Kanye’s anti-Semitism, he decided to put a T-shirt with a swastika on it for sale,\u2019 they denounced. \u2018This symbol, which Hitler adopted as his personal emblem, remains a banner of hatred and white supremacy, and continues to pose a threat to those persecuted by anti-Semitism. In addition, the organisation noted that the T-shirt was labelled with the code \u2018HH-01\u2019, a clear nod to the phrase \u2018Heil Hitler\u2019, further reinforcing the dangerous message Ye continues to spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n