Kanye West Deletes Social Media After String of Controversial Comments

The rapper made a pro-Donald Trump speech at the end of Saturday Night Live

By Lena Grossman Oct 07, 2018 1:14 AMTags
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Kanye West has turned off all of the lights on his social media platforms.

The Yeezy designer deactivated his Instagram and Twitter accounts just days after a flurry of controversial comments both online and on TV sparked some reactions. On Sept. 29, Kanye performed as the musical guest on the season 44 premiere of Saturday Night Live and gave an adamant pro-Donald Trump speech after the cameras stopped rolling. He was booed by the crowd and met with tepid applause by some. Various audience members, including comedian Chris Rock, filmed his address to the SNL audience. He said, "It's so many times that I talk to like, a white person about this, and they say, 'How could you like Trump? He's racist.' Well if I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago. We don't just make our decisions off of racism. I'ma break it down to you right now: If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don't have to believe in all they policies."

Throughout the week leading up to SNL, The Life of Pablo rapper was seen around New York City wearing the emblematic Make America Great Again hat. That caused some backlash, which he addressed onstage. "They bully me backstage and say, 'Don't go out there with that hat on.' They bully me backstage. They bully me! And then they say I'm in a sunken place," he added.

Before his SNL appearance, he announced to the world that he wants to be referred to as "The being formally known as Kanye West...I am YE."

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He later tweeted from a private plane a photo of him wearing the same red hat. He wrote, "This represents good and America becoming whole again. We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love." The 13th amendment eradicated slavery.

After this stir, President Trump voiced his own support for Kanye on Twitter, praising the rapper and said, "He's leading the charge!"

Celebrity voices approving of Kanye's political comments were few and far between. Captain America star Chris Evans  vocalized his disenchantment with the rapper. He wrote in response to Kanye's tweet, "There's nothing more maddening than debating someone who doesn't know history, doesn't read books, and frames their myopia as virtue. The level of unapologetic conjecture I've encountered lately isn't just frustrating, it's retrogressive, unprecedented and absolutely terrifying."

Singer Lana Del Rey and Saturday Night Live guest Alec Baldwin (who tends to play President Trump) were among those who spoke out against Kanye's comments.

Watch: Kanye West Gets Booed During Pro-Trump Speech on "SNL"

On Monday, the "Ultralight Beam" rapper sat down with TMZ's Harvey Levin about his most recent comments. He explained to Levin that he had been trying to communicate with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick and "bring him to the White House" so he and President Trump can get on the same page. Ye went on to clarify his 13th amendment comment. He told Levin, "Abolish was the wrong language. I misspoke by saying abolish. Amend is the right language."

In September, Ye announced that he would be moving back to Chicago permanently and he's "never leaving again." The rapper felt positive about the change and explained to TMZ, "I felt good about going back to Chicago and now I am able to apply all of this brilliance to my city where I grew up."

For those wondering when his new album Yandhi is coming out (it was supposed to drop during his SNL episode), he revealed the new date will be Nov. 23, which is Black Friday.

An insider revealed to E! News last week how Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian feels amid the outcry. "They definitely have their issues, but Kim always defends Kanye publicly and tries to be supportive. She believes Kanye is entitled to his opinion and can express it freely. She may not always agree with him, but she still feels he's allowed to believe what he wants," the source said.

The insider added, "Kim's not surprised in the least bit. Kanye loves to speak his mind and that's not going to change. Whether or not Kim shares the same beliefs, she knows she's never going to stop Kanye from expressing himself."