Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Sarah Silverman have slammed Kanye West for making antisemitic comments.
On Saturday, the Donda rapper made bizarre claims via Twitter of a conspiracy against him after his Instagram account was restricted over other offensive remarks.
Kanye also tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”, referencing the heightened alert status used by members of the U.S. military.
He added: “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
His justification for his comments echoes the theories of the extremist Black Hebrew Israelite group, who claim Black people are descendants of the Ancient tribe of Israel.
Accordingly, stars with Jewish heritage reacted to Kanye’s words, with Curtis posting a screenshot of the offending tweet and writing: “The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words matter. A threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop.”
Silverman also condemned others for remaining silent on the matter.
“Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on Twitter and it’s not even trending,” she wrote on Sunday. “Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud.”
Elsewhere, the “Jesus Walks” musician was condemned by leaders of the Anti-Defamation League, Black-Jewish Entertainment, and the Creative Community for Peace, who accused him of sharing the most “vile and age-old stereotypes” about Jews with millions of followers.
Other famous figures criticizing the 45-year-old included comedian Michael Rapaport, Rob Reiner, Jack Antonoff, John Legend, and Congresswoman AOC.
“There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism. It is important to see how harmful + dangerous Kanye’s words are – not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, & siblings, but also to our collective society at large,” AOC said.
There is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism. It is important to see how harmful + dangerous Kanye’s words are – not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, & siblings, but also to our collective society at large.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 10, 2022
We must reject this 🚮 wherever we see it.
Last week, Kanye also endured backlash over comments he made about fellow hip-hop star Lizzo’s weight, and his use of the controversial term “White Lives Matter,” seen by many as a racist attempt to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement.
Weird how all these “free, independent thinkers” always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) October 10, 2022