David Schwimmer Makes Plea to Elon Musk to Have Kanye West Banned From X Over “Sick Hate Speech”

by

David Schwimmer is standing up and speaking out against Kanye West‘s recent hate-filled tirade.

A well-known actor from the hit show “Friends” used Instagram to appeal to Elon Musk on a Saturday afternoon, urging him to ban Kanye West due to a series of controversial and antisemitic posts by West. The Jewish actor wrote, “We might not be able to stop a bigoted madman from spreading hateful, ignorant rants… but we certainly can deprive him of his amplifier, Mr. Musk.” He continued, “Kanye West has over 32 million followers on your platform, Elon. That’s more than double the number of Jews in existence. His hateful speech incites REAL-LIFE violence against the Jewish community.

For several days now, West has been actively posting on social media following an event at the Grammy Awards red carpet where his wife, Bianca Censori, wore a see-through dress that revealed her nude body beneath. However, his latest posts over the past day or so have sparked concern due to his praise for Adolf Hitler, a known Nazi figure; promotion of a Yeezy t-shirt design bearing a swastika symbol; reiteration of contentious remarks about slavery; criticism of the #MeToo movement; and disparagement of plus-sized models.

Schwimmer emphasized that these days, using such language could result in a user’s account being temporarily suspended. In late 2022 through the summer of 2023, West was even banned for approximately eight months due to posting a swastika and multiple disturbing tweets. (These posts led Adidas to terminate their partnership with the rapper, producer, and fashion designer.) At that time, X belonged to Musk; however, since then, the tycoon has loosened moderation rules, reactivated contentious accounts, and largely replaced fact-checking with community warnings. In a similar move, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg adapted these changes earlier this year for his platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Schwimmer, who has frequently voiced his opposition to antisemitism in the past, recently posed a question about the more problematic issue: whether it’s worse that West identifies as a Nazi or that there isn’t enough public indignation leading to his removal and ban from all social media at this time.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed an interesting contrast when it comes to online behavior and public figures. When Schwimmer faced criticism over his actions, many celebrities like Meghan McCain labeled him as “demonic” and Piers Morgan questioned Elon Musk about his continued presence. However, when Kanye West posts controversial content, there’s not the same level of outcry or call to action that we saw years ago. It’s fascinating to observe these shifts in public perception and response.

See Schwimmer’s Instagram post and the full text of his response below.

1. Here’s something straight out of 2022…
…We can’t prevent a hate-monger from spreading his venomous, uninformed rhetoric, but we certainly can take away his amplification, Mr. Musk.

Kanye West has an astounding 32.7 million followers on your platform, X.
…That’s more than the number of Jews living today.

His hate speech incites REAL-LIFE acts of violence against Jews.

It’s hard to decide what’s more troubling: his self-proclaimed Nazi identity (which suggests he wants to annihilate all marginalized groups, including his own) or the lack of ADEQUATE OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this moment.

Indifference equals complicity.

View this post on Instagram

Read More

2025-02-09 03:54