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Parler CEO George Farmer on Monday celebrated the news that hip-hop superstar Kanye West is planning to acquire the social media platform. He posted on Parler: "October 17th: Ye day."
He later followed up with another parley—the term the platform uses for message posts—that read: "Pronoun mob 'outraged' over Ye / Parler. Imagine my shock."
Parler's parent company, Parliament Technologies, was the first to announce that West, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021, is acquiring the social media platform in a Monday statement.
After posting content that has been deemed antisemitic by many, West had restrictions placed on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The move to take over Parler, which calls itself "the world's pioneering uncancelable free speech platform," is being interpreted by many people as a method for the star to more freely post content he desires to share with the public.
Farmer provided a statement to Newsweek on Monday about the deal with West.
"We welcome Ye in the fight for free speech," Farmer said. "As the social justice mob continues to put the crosshairs on people they disagree with, Parler's open door and viewpoint—neutral take on social media offers an environment where everybody can speak freely. "
Ye is quoted in the Parler announcement about his acquisition as saying, "In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves."
Parler grew in popularity throughout 2020, with supporters of former President Donald Trump flocking to the social media site during and after the election. But after last year's insurrection, which saw hundreds of Trump supporters violently riot at the U.S. Capitol building in a failed effort to block President Joe Biden's electoral college victory, Parler faced criticism for allegedly allowing its users to promote violence without the posts being removed.
Meanwhile, Farmer has another connection to West as he's the husband of conservative pundit Candace Owens. She was present with West during his Paris fashion show on October 3 and joined him in wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt at the event. Owens has since defended the rapper after the fallout for the comments he's made about Jewish people.
"This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech," Farmer said in Monday's announcement about the acquisition. "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."
Parler users also voiced their enthusiasm about Ye.
"Legendary! I [sic] huge win for the #Parler Community and for #freespeech OVERALL!" wrote one user of the platform. "Welcome to Parler #kanyewest."
Others indicated they signed up for the platform after hearing the news of the acquisition. One person who registered for Parler on Monday wrote, "If YE here then I'm here."
According to West's profile on Parler, he signed up on the platform on October 12 and has more than 5,000 followers. As of press time, he has yet to parley.
Newsweek reached out to West for comment.
Update 10/17/2022, 3:50 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Farmer.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is a News Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more