‘Thank You Jonah Hill’
“No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people,” rapper writes in return to social media
Kanye West returned to social media for the first time in months late Friday to declare that he “likes Jewish people again,” all thanks to Jonah Hill’s performance in 21 Jump Street.
In his first Instagram post of 2023 — and his first since a series of antisemitic tirades got him booted from social media in the first place — West wrote, “Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again.”
In what’s perhaps his version of a mea culpa, West — who praised Hitler on Infowars and surrounded himself with notorious far-right extremists during the tail end of 2022 — added that, “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people. No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew.”
West then again thanked Hill’s performance in a comedy reboot of an 80s TV cop drama for his epiphany, “Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”
West sparked the stream of controversy at his Yeezy fashion show in October when he wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt. Since then, he has accused the “Jewish media” of censoring him and having an agenda against him. After threatening to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” several companies cut ties with West including JP Morgan Chase, CAA, Vogue, Balenciaga and, most notably, Adidas, who terminated their billion-dollar deal with the rapper.
Whether or not West is being genuine regarding liking Jewish people again, much of his damage has already been done: In February, the Anti-Defamation League released a document of dozens of acts of vandalism, harassment and intimidation organized under the “Ye is right” slogan. “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,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO. Antisemitic tweets referencing the “Ye is Right” slogan also reached nearly 5 million users of the platform.