Kanye West: Ye clashes with Piers Morgan in new interview, admits antisemitic comments caused ‘hurt’
George Floyd’s family is also considering a lawsuit against Kanye West after he spoke about how the 46-year-old man died over the weekend, according to their lawyer
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Kanye West has pologised for causing “hurt and confusion” with antisemitic comments he made last week.
Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday (19 October), the host asked the rapper whether he regretted threatening to go “DEFCON 3 on Jewish people”.
West initially doubled down on his comments, replying: “No, absolutely not.” Morgan then asked if he knew the comments were racist, to which West confirmed: “Yes, that’s why I said it... I fought fire with fire. I’m not here to get hosed down.”
Elsewhere, the mother of George Floyd’s daughter has sued Kanye West for $250m in the wake of his controversial comments about Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer.
And now Floyd’s family has issued a cease-and-desist letter to West for the comments he made on the Drink Champs podcast, which has now been taken down.
In the lawsuit filed by Roxie Washington, the mother of Gianna Floyd, lawyers said West made “false statements about George Floyd’s death to promote his brands, and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates.”
Earlier, The Drink Champs interview was pulled from YouTube, Rolling Stone reports.
The YouTube show’s host, N.O.R.E., apologised for the contents of the interview that he said “hurt” people during a Monday morning radio show appearance. Hours later, the video had been made private on YouTube while the podcast version of the conversation was removed from both Spotify and Apple Music earlier in the day.
Late in the night on Monday, Tesla billionaire and potential Twitter owner Elon Musk appeared to tease a possible business collaboration with West after he tweeted out a meme - and then deleted -that hinted at a team-up with the rapper and Parler, the right-wing social network he is in the process of acquiring.
George Floyd’s family may sue Kanye West over false claims about his death
George Floyd’s family may sue Kanye West over the rapper’s false claims about his death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer.
The rapper sparked new controversy by claiming that Floyd died from the drug fentanyl and that a police officer’s knee “wasn’t even on his neck like that”.
Following the comments, civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who represented Floyd’s family, took to Twitter to suggest that the family may now take legal action against West.
“While one cannot defame the dead, the family of George Floyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death,” he tweeted on Sunday.
“Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.”
Read more:
George Floyd’s family may sue Kanye West over false claims about his death
Rapper claimed on podcast that Floyd died from drug fentanyl during 2020 arrest
Bishop Talbert Swan condemns Kanye West following George Floyd death claims
Bishop Talbert Swan has hit out at Kanye West following his false claims about George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer.
“George Floyd was murdered,” he wrote. “We all watched the video in horror. He did not die of a fentanyl overdose.
“Kanye West is a pathetic, boot-licking, white supremacy apologist. I hope Floyd’s family sues the ‘white lives matter’ shirt off his back.”
American rapper Boosie Badazz calls out Kanye West for ‘sick’ George Floyd claims
American rapper Boosie Badazz has called out Kanye West for his recent comments about George Floyd’s death.
“YOU REALLY HAVE A DEEP HATRED IN YOUR HEART FOR BLACK PEOPLE,” the rapper, real name Torence Ivy Hatch, wrote. “First you said slavery was a choice, then white lives matter, now George Floyd.
“AINT NOBODY GO TELL YO A** YOU SICK FOR DOING THIS TO OUR RACE,” he added. “If u think u white JUST DO IT.”
What exactly did Kanye West say about George Floyd’s death?
Kanye West spoke about George Floyd’s death while discussing Candace Owens’s documentary The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM during an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast on Saturday.
“They hit him with the fentanyl, if you look the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that,” said West, who legally changed his name to Ye.
He then went on to compare George Floyd to fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who died from cancer last November. And he also attacked what he called the “Jewish media”, by whom he claimed to have been “blocked”. Read more link
When and how did George Floyd die?
On 25 May 2020, a convenience store employee in Minneapolis called 911 and said that George Floyd, 46, had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. When the clerk asked him to return the cigarettes he refused, and seemed “drunk and not in control of himself,” according to 911 logs.
Soon after that, four officers – Derek Chauvin, plus Tou Thao, and new recruits Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng – arrived at the scene.
Police said they found Floyd sitting on his car, where he appeared intoxicated and resisted arrest.
The group moved to detain Floyd and he was soon face-down on the ground, as a bystander began live-streaming video of the encounter on Facebook.
Video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes, as he pleads over and over again that he can’t breathe.
A medical examiner later described Floyd’s death as a homicide, and said he went into cardiopulmonary arrest as Chauvin kept his knee on his neck.
The examination also pointed out “hypertensive heart disease”, “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” as other notable medical conditions surrounding the death.
Read more:
Stephen Jackson responds to Kanye West following George Floyd death claims
Stephen Jackson has slammed Kanye West for his comments about George Floyd.
The former NBA player posted a video on Instagram on Sunday, calling West’s remarks “clout chasing”.
In a short clip, Jackson indirectly criticised West, among others, for taking advantage of Floyd’s death by “dissing” him.
“It’s all noted,” he captioned the clip. “To say u a Legend in music @kanyewest it’s sad that u still gotta talk about other people lives to be relevant is wack. Its really sad u doing all this over some ‘P***y.’”
Kanye West to buy right-wing social media app Parler to protect ‘conservative opinions’
Kanye West is buying Parler, the right-wing social media app that’s been banned by Apple and Google multiple times and was used to coordinate the January 6th riots.
The rapper, known as Ye, joined the platform today.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” said Mr West.
“This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again. Once again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative. Parlement will be honored to help him achieve his goals”, said George Farmer, the chief executive of Parler’s parent company, Parlement Technologies.
Read more in this developing story here with Adam Smith.
Kanye West to buy right-wing social media app Parler
Kanye West is buying Parler, the right-wing social media app that’s been banned by Apple and Google multiple times and was used to coordinate the January 6th riots.
Parler releases statement on Twitter about Kanye West acquisition
Parlement Technologies, the parent company of the right-wing social media app Parler, announced on Twitter that the company’s acquisition by Kanye West will ensure its “future role” as a pioneering uncancellable free speech platform.
“Parlement Technologies is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement in principle for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to acquire the Parler platform. The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome,” the company wrote in a tweet shared early on Monday morning.
Elon Musk’s latest Twitter stunt teases Twitter x Parler collaboration
Tesla billionaire and potential Twitter owner Elon Musk appears to be teasing a possible business collaboration with Kanye West, despite the rapper’s recent antisemitic rants and attacks on George Floyd.
On Monday, Mr Musk shared an image playing on the Dragon Ball anime series, where two characters can fuse together into a more powerful being by touching fingers. In his version, the Tesla founder is edited onto one character, along with a Twitter logo, while West’s face is superimposed onto another, with the logo of Parler, the right-wing social network West recently purchased.
“Fun times ahead!” Mr Musk wrote below the image.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Mr Musk, West, Twitter and Parler for comment.
Read our full story for more.
Elon Musk hints at social media collab with Kanye West despite antisemitic rants
Comes as rapper purchases right-wing network Parler
Donald Trump privately warns that Kanye West’s recent tirades are concerning
Donald Trump, who once posed arm-in-arm with Kanye West at the foot of Trump Tower after the rapper embraced the then-president elect and has famously at one time called him a “genius”, is privately rebuking the artist’s recent public tirades against Jewish people, according to Rolling Stone.
The former president has reportedly confided in multiple people close to him that the rapper’s social media blasts, in which he said he planned to go “death con 3” on “JEWISH PEOPLE,” have led him to believe that West is acting too “crazy” and he should seek out professional “help”.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Rolling Stone that the one-term president is intentionally avoiding commenting on the scandals that have erupted between the rapper and the Jewish community.
Ohio pastor Darrell Scott has also confided in the magazine about Trump’s reaction to the ongoing fallout from West’s comments, noting in an interview that he spoke with the former president after West’s now infamous interview with Tucker Carlson aired, during which he put Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on blast.
“Two minutes after the Tucker segment ended, I called up Trump and asked him, ‘So, what did you think?’” Mr Scott told Rolling Stone.
“Interesting,” the twice-impeached president responded, before Mr Scott relayed how he went on to add, “I will say this — he loves Trump!”
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