A hip-hop festival in Los Angeles is facing backlash for signing Kanye West as a headliner, despite his well-documented anti-Semitic comments.
Rolling Loud is the biggest rap music event in the world, and tonight the controversial artist will take the main stage alongside Ty Dolla $ign.
The American Jewish Committee has condemned support for the 46-year-old rapper’s performance as “Ye” amid rising anti-Semitic incidents in the United States.
The group compared the protests surrounding a performance by pro-Israel musician Matisyahu to Kanye’s deplatforming.
“The contrast in treatment between Matisyahu and Ye is significant,” the AJC said. “If you were Jewish, your concerts would be canceled. If you were anti-Semitic, you would be the subject of major music festivals.” headlines.
When DailyMail.com contacted Rolling Loud, the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The last time Kanye performed at a music festival was a surprise appearance in 2021.
Jewish-American singer Matisyahu said two of his solo shows in Tucson, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, were canceled at the last minute due to issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
The outspoken pro-Israel musician wrote on The hatred of compassionate people.”
Organizers said his performance was canceled due to safety concerns.
West has a history of anti-Semitism and lost a number of deals last year after making explosive anti-Semitic comments.
Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband has vowed to stage a “Jewish Death Hoax 3” in 2022 in a series of disgusting posts online.
When the talk show host claimed the comments were “as racist as anything you’ve ever experienced,” the Gold Digger rapper retorted, “That’s why I say that.” I fight fire with fire.
In early December, Kanye praised Hitler’s “redemptive qualities” during an interview with right-wing talk show host Alex Jones.
He also insisted that “the Holocaust was not what happened” and promoted conspiracy theories that black people were the real Jews.
West’s rants cost him lucrative contracts with the likes of Gap, Adidas and Balenciaga.
He was also fired from Creative Artists Agency’s management team.
His hit song “Vultures” also contains the vile lyric: “How am I anti-Semitic?” I’m just fucking Jewish bastards.
The lyrics sparked backlash from some fans and were condemned by organizations such as the American Jewish Committee.
“Following the flames of anti-Semitism and spreading that anger to millions of followers, especially during this fraught and dangerous time for the Jewish community,” spokesman Richard Hirschhaut told TMZ at the time , this is inexcusable.”
He added that the West’s choice was not surprising given his previous anti-Semitic comments.
But he said the scandal “appears particularly sad and sad”.
The Anti-Defamation League joined the criticism, telling the outlet: “At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise globally, it is disgusting to see Kanye once again using his platform to spread hatred against Jews.”
Racism against Jews and Muslims surged after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of anti-Semitic incidents has quadrupled.
The watchdog counted 312 anti-Semitic incidents between October 7 and 23, including harassment, vandalism and physical attacks.
Meanwhile, attendance at college campuses and schools has increased significantly, according to the American Jewish Committee.
The number of reported incidents is at a record high, with nearly 100 incidents occurring at American universities between October 7 and 30.
The surge in incidents prompted the White House to take a series of measures to address an “alarming” rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.
