Kanye West makes Twitter comeback after Meta restricts Instagram account

Kanye West has reportedly been banned from Instagram, leading him to make a comeback on Twitter after two years away.

NBC News confirmed that the rapper was barred from the social photo-sharing platform, with a representative for Meta – the company that owns Instagram – saying he was restricted from posting, and had content removed by a moderator, after violating the rules and guidelines. It was not specified exactly what posts were removed by Meta, but as NBC noted, one deleted yesterday (October 8) saw West share anti-Semitic sentiments.

It came after Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs responded to West’s recent gaffe at this year’s Paris Fashion Week – where he wore a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter”, a slogan tied to white supremacist movements – and West shared screenshots of a text exchange between the two rappers to Instagram. In one of those texts, West wrote to Diddy: “I’ma use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”

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In his first Tweet since November 4, 2020, West shared a photo of a black cap emblazoned with “2024” on the rim – likely a nod to his recent declaration that he plans to run for President again in 2024. He followed it up with a photo of West singing karaoke with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accompanied with the caption: “Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off instagram. You used to be my nigga.”

West’s latest political stunt began on Monday (October 3) during a launch event for his fashion brand Yeezy. During it, the rapper – as well as several models walking in the show, and conservative commentator Candace Owens – wore a shirt boasting the slogan “White Lives Matter”.

He’s since faced significant backlash for his use of the phrase – an appropriation of the Black Lives Matter slogan used to protest racial injustice, discrimination and police brutality – with the likes of Diddy and Jaden Smith, plus figureheads for Supreme and Vogue, taking issue with the stunt. He responded by doubling down, writing in a post on Instagram that the Black Lives Matter movement was a “scam”. 

In the days since, West has remained staunch on his viewpoint. His latest move of defence came in an interview with Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson – who himself has long history with allegations of racism and the promotion of white nationalist rhetoric – wherein West admitted that he found the shirt, and his idea to wear it, to be funny. 

Meanwhile, Canadian singer-songwriter Esthero – who co-wrote West’s ‘808s & Heartbreak’ tracks ‘Love Lockdown’, ‘Street Lights’ and ‘Robocop’ – says she intends to donate her cut of publishing royalties for the tracks to Black Lives Matter in response to West’s actions.

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Among those who joined West in wearing the “White Lives Matter” shirt was Selah Marley – the daughter of Lauryn Hill and granddaughter of Bob Marley – who today (October 6) responded to her own backlash. “You can not bully me, manipulate me, or coax me into silence,” she wrote in a post shared to her Instagram Story, asking fans to “wait ’til you hear what [she has] to say”.

In addition to some of his colleagues, West’s critics have also included the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered in a racially motivated hate crime in 2020. Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, came forward to express “extreme disappointment” with West’s actions. Black Lives Matter Grassroots, meanwhile, shared a statement saying the rapper had “sent a performative dog whistle to millions”.