Kim Kardashian Condemns Hate Speech After Kanye's Antisemitic Remarks

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has encountered a major backlash after making antisemitic comments on Twitter and Instagram. Several high-profile companies have stopped representing the hip-hop artist, and celebrities have expressed criticism of his remarks. Now, ex-wife Kim Kardashian has joined them.

Starting earlier this month, Ye spread his antisemitic rhetoric several times, and his Twitter and Instagram accounts were locked. To counteract being banned from social media sites, he announced last week he would buy the alt-tech conservative social networking app Parler.

Meanwhile, major brands such as Gap and Balenciaga, along with Adidas, have dropped Ye, and the host of celebrities coming out against his remarks includes actress Amy Schumer, Ye's ex-in-laws Khloé Kardashian and Kris and Kendall Jenner, David Schwimmer and Florence Pugh.

On Monday, Kim Kardashian condemned her ex-husband's comments on Instagram Stories.

"Hate speech is never OK or excusable," Kardashian posted. "I stand together with the Jewish community and call on this terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."

Kardashian posted the same message on Twitter, and the tweet received more than 50,000 interactions in just two hours.

Kardashian made the post after singer Boy George criticized her for not joining other celebrities in condemning Ye, according to People magazine.

In an Instagram video posted Saturday, Boy George said: "I'm appalled that Kim Kardashian hasn't really added her voice to this debate, because this woman has children with Kanye, so she can understand better than anyone as a mother what it feels like for little Jewish children to hear these...comments, how demoralizing and terrifying it must be."

Newsweek reached out to Ye's representatives for comment.

Kardashian and Ye divorced in 2021. They share four children: daughters North and Chicago and sons Saint and Psalm.

Kardashian decided to end her marriage with Ye because she was lonely and felt she had little in common with him, according to Cosmopolitan.

Ye has won 22 Grammys but has also ruffled lots of feathers. He's been the subject of criticism not only for his recent antisemitic comments but also for his verbal attacks on Kardashian's former boyfriend, actor and comedian Pete Davidson; making false claims about George Floyd's 2020 killing in police custody; and wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week.

Ye's antisemitic comments have been supported publicly by white supremacist group the Goyim Defense League, which posted banners reading "Kanye is right about the Jews" over Interstate 405 in Los Angeles.

Last week, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Newsweek he was worried Ye might draw more users to Parler.

"Parler to date is a failing app, even among the hateful and extremist-friendly platforms that purport to provide an alternative to traditional social media," he said. "However, Ye's popularity among far-right communities poses a concern if he draws more users to the largely unmoderated platform."

Parler has been home to controversial posts as well. It was temporarily pulled offline in January 2021, days after the U.S. Capitol riot.

Many people have spoken out against conservative social media sites like Parler and former President Donald Trump's app, Truth Social, even petitioning Google and Apple to remove Truth Social from app stores.