Ye, the controversial American rapper formerly known as Kanye West, was spotted in Los Angeles on Thursday wearing a white T-shirt featuring a swastika. The design appears to be the same one he promoted on his website before it was taken down.
In a short video published by TMZ the following day, the rapper is seen chatting with a group of men before noticing the camera. He then walks toward it, ensuring an unobstructed view of the design.ย
โIt was always a dream of mine to walk around with a Swastika T on,โ Ye wrote in a now deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) the same day. He previously described the design as his โgreatest performance art piece thus far,โ adding, โIโve wanted to make this tee shirt for years.โ
The sighting follows Yeโs latest provocationโa Super Bowl ad directing viewers to a merchandise store that only sold a $20 swastika T-shirt. The ad showed Ye filming himself in a dentistโs chair before flashing a link to his online store. Those who visited the site found only one item for sale, labeled โHH-01.โ
The design was widely condemned, with the Anti-Defamation League linking the name to the Nazi salute โHeil Hitler.โ Shopify shut down the website, stating that Ye โdid not engage in authentic commerce practicesโ and violated its terms of service.
The latest incident adds to Yeโs history of antisemitic controversies. Adidas cut ties with him in October 2022 after he praised Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust during an interview on Infowars. โI see good things about Hitler,โ he said at the time. Two months later, he declared โI am a Naziโ during another Infowars interview with Alex Jones. He later blamed the statement on drinking too much Hennessy.
More companies and collaborators have since distanced themselves from the rapper. Russian designer Gosha Rubchinsky, who worked with Ye on the โBlack Dogsโ collection and was appointed head of design for Yeezy in December 2023, said last month that he was ending his partnership with Ye. Although Rubchinsky did not publicly comment on Westโs controversies, the announcement was made after the rapper posted several antisemitic statements, identified himself as a Nazi, and professed his admiration for Adolf Hitler in February this year.ย
Ye, a 24-time Grammy Award winner, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and has spoken about his struggles with mental health. Last month, he revealed he had also been diagnosed with autism and had stopped taking his medication after learning he was misdiagnosed. โI havenโt taken the medication since I found out it wasnโt bipolar,โ he said on The Download podcast, adding, โItโs worth the ramp-up, as long as yโall get the creativity.โ
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