Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ and Anti-Semitism Scandal, Fallout and Aftermath: Everything to Know

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Kanye West's 'White Lives Matter' and Anti-Semitism Scandal, Fallout and Aftermath: Everything to Know

Kanye West is dealing with the fallout from his Paris Fashion Week scandal, during which he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt, slammed a Vogue editor for her criticism, and, later, was temporarily restricted from multiple social media outlets after sharing an anti-semitic message. The “Famous” rapper first made waves on October 3 when wearing the controversial tee at his Yeezy season 9 collection show. The backlash was swift, and West took aim at one critic in particular — Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, whom he mocked on social media for her own fashion choices. Things only got messier in the following days, as West went on to share Instagram posts about his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, claiming that she and her family “kidnapped” their daughter Chicago and refused to let him see her at her 4th birthday party, allegations he originally made earlier this year (and the Kardashians previously denied). Khloé Kardashian stepped into the fray to beg her former brother-in-law to stop his rants, which only made the “Jesus Walks” artist double down on his comments even more. On October 7, West sat down for a controversial interview on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, during which he explained the reason why he chose to wear the shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter” on the back. [jwplayer PsyMr1eD-zhNYySv2] “I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right,” the designer explained. “It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God and just brilliance. He added: “People, they’re looking for an explanation, and people say, ‘Well, as an artist you don’t have to give an explanation,’ but as a leader, you do. So the answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do. It’s the obvious thing.” The next day, after sharing an anti-semitic message via Instagram, the Chicago native’s account was restricted by Meta, Instagram’s parent company, for violating its rules and guidelines. His Twitter account was also temporarily locked. "I burst into tears," Jamie Lee Curtis told Hoda Kotb about seeing West’s remarks. "I woke up and burst into tears. Defcon 3 on Jewish people? What are you doing?" She added, “It's bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world. But on Twitter, on a portal, to pour that in? As if Jewish people haven't had it hard enough?" Keep scrolling for everything to know about West’s Paris Fashion Week scandal, the aftermath and all the drama surrounding it:

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‘White Lives Matter’

West kicked off his PFW controversy on October 3 when he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy season 9 show collection.

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Kanye ‘Bullied’ Reporter, ‘Vogue’ Claims

After Karena-Johnson slammed the “Bound 2” rapper’s decision to wear the shirt, West took to social media, heavily criticizing her to the point that Gigi Hadid and Vogue took a stand against the artist.

“Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor,” the publication shared via social media on October 4. “She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable,” the statement continued. “Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms.”

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Kanye Brings Kim's Name Into the Mix

When calling out the criticism he received about the shirt, the “Gold Digger” artist invoked the name of his ex-wife. “So why did everyone feel so free to attack me about my T-shirt. But Candace Owens was the only public figure to say that it was wrong for the Kardashians to keep me from seeing my daughter,” he wrote via Instagram on October 5. “Or we just chime in when we want to tear a Black man down for actually having a political opinion.”

He added: “And for all audience so outraged about my T-shirt. Where was you when I couldn’t see my kids. I went public in hope of public support at the time.”

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Khloe Tells Kanye to ‘Stop Tearing’ Down Her Family

“Ye, I love you. I don’t want to do this on social media but YOU keep bringing it here,” the Good American cofounder commented on West’s Instagram post. “You are the father of my nieces and nephews and I’m trying to be respectful but please STOP tearing Kimberly down and using our family when you want to deflect.”

She added, “Again with the birthday narrative. Enough already. We all know the truth and in my opinion, everyone’s tired of it. You know exactly where your children are at all times and YOU wanted separate birthdays. I have seen all of the texts to prove it. And when you changed your mind and wanted to attend, you came.”

West, for his part, hit back at his former sister-in-law with a lengthy, all-caps post in which he claimed the Kardashians “kidnapped” Chicago.

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Kanye Goes Off on Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber

After Hadid and Bieber condemned the rapper for his remarks about Karefa-Johnson, West slammed them via social media. “‘THEEYY’ don’t want undeniable beautiful Black women to be put on their rightful throne,” he wrote via Instagram on October 6, also bringing Kris Jenner's boyfriend Corey Gamble's name into the drama. “They want corny ass Gigi Hadid and nose job Hailey Baldloose [Bieber] to rally behind an obvious Corey Gamble level nonfashion industry plant.”

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Adidas Puts His ‘Yeezy’ Collab ‘Under Review’

That same day, Adidas announced that their partnership with his Yeezy brand is “under review.”

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'Tucker Carlson' Appearance

The “Heartless” rapper only dug himself in deeper with critics when he spoke with the controversial conservative Fox host about his decision to wear the shirt.

“I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right,” West said during the October 7 sit-down. “It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God and just brilliance.”

He further claimed: “People, they’re looking for an explanation, and people say, ‘Well, as an artist you don’t have to give an explanation,’ but as a leader, you do. So the answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do. It’s the obvious thing.” During the interview, West once again discussed his relationship with his ex-wife and criticized some of her own fashion decisions.

“I had a lot of issues with the imagery of Skims,” he shared, referring to Kim’s line of shapewear. “I felt like there’s a lot of imagery that was overly sexualized and things I wouldn’t want to see my wife — and definitely not my daughters — doing in the future in order to sell products. But it reaches another level when it’s like, ‘OK, this is what my wife is doing, this is what she’s doing for our children.'”

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Anti-Semitic Commentary and Subsequent Social Media Ban

The “Flashing Lights” performer landed in hot water across the board on October 8, when he made an anti-semitic remark against Jewish people that caused his Twitter account to be temporarily locked and for Instagram to restrict his account for the time being. Countless celebrities, including Curtis, John Legend, Sarah Silverman and more slammed West for his commentary.

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The 'Drink Champs' Appearance

During a three-hour "Drink Champs" interview on October 16, West made additional anti-Semitic comments while discussing the post that got him banned from Twitter. After the interview, the American Jewish Committee condemned his remarks in a statement shared via social media. "#DrinkChamps and @Noreaga proudly touted Kanye's interview with no condemnation of his antisemitism. Besides the comments themselves, the problem with Kanye's open antisemitism is the fact that these people and platforms continue to give him the chance to spew hatred," the organization tweeted. "Platforms like @Revolttv cannot shirk their responsibility for the content that they produce and air without commentary. Choosing to allow Kanye to spew antisemitic hatred, even after he threatened all Jewish people, is despicable. Enough!"