In a guest appearance on conspiracy theorist Infowars online TV show, Kanye West praised Adolf Hitler during an interview with host Alex Jones.
Mr West, who has been embroiled in controversy for several antisemitic comments and outbursts in recent months, has lost partnership deals with brands including Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga.
Kanye West has appeared on the Alex Jones show to complain that you can’t say anything good about Hitler. pic.twitter.com/63CFrdrsfc
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) December 1, 2022
During the show on Thursday, which featured Mr Jones, Mr West, and Nick Fuentes, a holocaust-denying white supremacist, the host attempted to defend the hip-hop star, saying: “You’re not Hitler, you’re not a Nazi, so you don’t deserve to be demonised.”
Mr West instead pushed back, saying: “Well, I see good things about Hitler also.
“The Jews… I love everyone, and the Jewish people are not going to tell me, 'You can love us and you can love what we are doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we are pushing with the pornography”, but this guy [Hitler] that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good and I am done with that.”
Mr West, who recently announced his intention to run for president in 2024, added: “I am done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
Following the outrageous comments, Mr Jones, in an attempt to distance his own views, said that he did not like Nazis or Hitler, to which Mr West replied, “I like Hitler.”
Happening now: Kanye West tells Alex Jones that he "sees good things about Hitler also" pic.twitter.com/sjqF4Fnunb
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 1, 2022
Later in the show Mr West said, “They [Nazis] did good things too, we’ve got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time.
“The Jewish media has made us feel like the Nazis and Hitler have never offered anything of value to the world.”
Mr West also shared his opinion that six million Jews did not die in the Holocaust.
Kanye "Ye" West on Hitler: "He had a really cool outfit and he was a really good architect ... and he didn't kill 6 million Jews." pic.twitter.com/BP2xrAQURG
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 1, 2022
Last week, following backlash to a lunch meeting with West and Fuentes, Donald Trump immediately denief having any prior knowledge of Mr Fuentes.
After clips of the Infowars show circulated on social media, a number of celebrities immediately condemned Mr Wests’s comments.
Jewish Actor and comedian Josh Gad said: “It’s not what Kanye West says that scares me, it’s that he has 30 million followers who listen to his insanity on top of a cheerleader in the form of the current owner of this platform.
“No one who says ‘I love Hitler’ should be allowed any oxygen on any social platform (period).”
It’s not what Kanye West says that scares me. It’s that he has 30 million followers who listen to his insanity on top of a cheerleader in the form of the current owner of this platform. No one who says “I love Hitler” should be allowed any oxygen on any social platform (period).
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) December 1, 2022
Jewish Political commentator and comedian Jon Stewart simply tweeted, “Oy”, while American football quarterback and analyst Robert Griffin, tweeted: "Somebody tell Kanye to SHUT UP!!!"
Following the interview and subsequent widespread outrage, Mr West Tweeted that he loved the First Amendment (free speech).
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1598400316340596736