In an Instagram post on Saturday, the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, proclaimed that he is no longer an antisemite after watching the film “21 Jump Street.”
The 45-year-old wrote that watching the 2012 cop comedy starring Jonah Hill, who is Jewish, and Channing Tatum made him “like Jewish people again.”
“No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people,” West wrote. “No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”
Ye’s newest post is a reversal from his previous antisemitic statements on social media and in interviews which have since led to major companies and labels cutting ties with the rapper including Adidas, which terminated the production of his Yeezy branded products, Balenciaga, his talent agency The Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Gap, Foot Locker, MRC Entertainment and more.
In October 2022, Ye came under fire after tweeting he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” making an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.
His antisemitic rhetoric prompted him to be locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
The artist also tweeted that he was “starting to think anti-Semitic means [the N word].” He also came under fire for his praise of Adolf Hitler during an Infowars appearance with host Alex Jones.
West has previously stated that he believed slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast,” among other incendiary comments. He also was criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy collection show in Paris.
Demonstrators in Los Angeles had unfurled a banner on a freeway overpass praising Ye’s antisemitic comments at the time, which prompted an outcry on social media from celebrities and others saying they stood with Jewish people.
His Instagram account contains no other posts besides the one announcing his newfound love of Jewish people paired with an image of the “21 Jump Street” poster.
So far, no comment has been surfaced from anyone involved in the film.