CONSEQUENCES

Kanye West’s Antisemitism Led to Violent Attacks and Vandalism, Report Finds

Tweets referring to the “Ye is Right” slogan reached nearly 5 million users, while physical attacks and graffiti promoting the artist’s antisemitism spread like wildfire.

Kanye West’s anti-semitic tirades led to a sharp increase in vandalism, harassment, and intimidation under the “Ye is Right” slogan, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League released Monday. Tweets referencing the slogan reached nearly 5 million Twitter users, documents show, while its hateful impact spread across the country. In California, graffiti saying “Kanye West is right” and “Kill All Jews” was found in a high school bathroom. In Florida, someone drew graffiti of a swastika next to “I love Kanye.” In New York City, “Kanye is Right” was written on the entrance of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue. Physical threats and harassment have also escalated, with a man assaulting a Jewish man in New York City while yelling “Kanye 2024” in December. In Maryland, a Jewish man was assaulted in a grocery store by a group chanting “Yeah, do it for Kanye!” And in December, members of a white supremacist group in California boarded a flight wearing Burger King crowns changed to have “White Power” and “Ye is Right” written on them. “Kanye West’s repeated antisemitic remarks—and his dredging up some of the worst anti-Jewish tropes imaginable—are inspiring people to commit real-world acts of hate,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said.