Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo confronted Kanye West over his controversial comments about Jews that have been widely condemned as antisemitic and gotten him deplatformed on multiple social media sites.
The rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye, appeared on Cuomo’s NewsNation show to discuss his name change, move to purchase the Parler social media platform, and his recent controversy over comments about Jewish people. Cuomo challenged West’s statements, particularly taking issue with his comment about a “Jewish underground media mafia,” which the rapper repeated in his appearance.
“Look, there is no Jewish media, cabal, mafia. That is a figment of either your imagination or a projection of a prejudice. You may have had bad business dealings with people — it’s about those people. It’s not about their religion or faith. And I know that you’re intelligent and understand that when you target people because of their faith, other people may do so the same,” Cuomo said in response to a tangent from West in which he described his problems with the “media mafia.”
“So we don’t want to tolerate that, and you are playing into that right now whether you know that or not,” Cuomo added.
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“And I don’t tolerate it as a black person. What you just said was that you’re trying to say that there isn’t a collective — over 50% of the executives and CEOs in Hollywood are Jewish,” West responded. “You can’t tell me what to do or feel.”
West also repeated his claim that he can’t be antisemitic because black people are Jewish.
“I don’t believe in that term. One thing is … I classify as Jew also, so I actually can’t be an antisemite. So the term … is not factual,” West said.
“I understand you think that, but I don’t think that’s a common understanding, that black people can say whatever they want about Jewish people,” Cuomo responded.
“Jewish people own the black voice,” West said at another point.
Despite the comments that many see as antisemitic, West maintains that he is “coming from a place of love” and “a place of ‘We’re not gonna be owned by the Jewish media anymore.'”
Cuomo finished the interview by inquiring about the star’s mental health, which West took issue with, accusing him of asking if he was behaving.
“Did you work out this morning?” West asked.
“No,” Cuomo admitted. “But I took my medicine, but I took my antidepressant medication that I take every day.”
West stressed throughout the interview that his name was Ye and corrected Cuomo several times.
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The rapper, fashion designer, and former presidential candidate has come under fire recently after making numerous negative public comments about Jews, which many believe are antisemitic. Due to the comments, West has been booted from Instagram and Twitter, inspiring his recent bid to buy Parler.
