Kanye West has earned the ire of Black Lives Matter after making the questionable choice of wearing a black KKK-style hood during a recent appearance.
A representative for the organization spoke to TMZ about the hood, which has both racist and antisemitic ties, on Friday (December 15). Needless to say, they were none too pleased.
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“The shock and disgust that Ye generated should be channeled into supporting efforts to eliminate this repugnant ideology from society,” the spokesperson said. “Hate groups are growing at an alarming rate in America. Of the list of over 1,200 active hate groups in society, the KKK is the largest with hundreds of chapters nationwide, making it larger today than any other point in the group’s long history.”
The spokesperson continued: “The primary goal of [Black Lives Matter] is to expose the prevalence of white supremacist and anti-Black ideals in the U.S., and how those ideals are deeply rooted in its foundation. Recognizing this is the first step toward collective action to eradicate these harmful ideologies.”
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Doug Linkhart, a representative for the National Civic League, also spoke to TMZ and said that Ye’s hood was an insult to those who truly perished at the hand of the Ku Klux Klan.
“Any wearing of clothing that evokes the Ku Klux Klan is an affront to not only those who have been targeted by the KKK, but to American values in general,” he said.
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Linkhart also said that Kanye West’s First Amendment rights allow him to wear the hood, no matter how repugnant, but “hate speech and symbols are hurtful and should be condemned, not condoned.”
The controversy started on Tuesday (December 12), when he wore a black KKK mask at the listening event for his joint album with Ty Dolla $ign.
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The Chicago rap icon and California crooner debuted their collaborative project Vultures at an outdoor “rave” at Miami’s Wynwood Marketplace in the early hours of Tuesday morning (December 12), which was also livestreamed online.
Towards the end of the performance, Ye appeared on stage wearing a black version of the hood famously worn by members of the white supremacist group.
The pointy black mask previously appeared in his animated “Black Skinhead” music video from 2013’s Yeezus.
It serves as Kanye West’s latest racially provocative stunt following the White Lives Matter shirt he wore in 2022 and his string of antisemitic and pro-Adolf Hitler comments.
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Even his recent single “Vultures” has been condemned by Jewish groups for its allegedly antisemitic lyrics, notably the line: “How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch.”
Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign were joined on stage in Miami by Offset, Lil Durk, Chris Brown, Kodak Black, Freddie Gibbs and West’s daughter, North. Playboi Carti was also supposed to attend but was running late, according to Kanye.
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The pair premiered a number of songs from Vultures, including collaborations with Nicki Minaj (“New Body”), Lil Baby and Charlie Wilson (“Everybody,” which samples the Backstreet Boys), Young Thug (“River”), Freddie Gibbs (“Back to Me”), and Kodak Black and Bad Bunny.
