A Jewish ex-colleague of Kanye West has defended him following weeks of the rapper's antisemitic remarks.
Udi Avshalom, the former chief operating officer (COO) of Mr West’s fashion brand Yeezy, came to the celebrity’s defense on social media.
Writing via Instagram, the Israel-based businessman implied that Mr West’s comments needed to be understood in the context of mental health, without explicitly mentioning the musician by name.
“I believe with education he will have a more positive [point of view], mental health is NO joke.
He implied that Mr West knew his remarks were false, writing: "I love my guy and upset at the same time at all this, he knows he talkin [sic] nonsense, he is wrong, as he reflects he will realize,” Avshalom wrote.
“He has trusted me for years, I am Jewish. We made history together. I helped build his brand for him.
"Jews and blacks partner cause we are fearless and forgiving ppl [sic], we share the same values.”
Mr Avshalom served as Yeezy’s COO from 2017 until October 2022 and the details of his recent departure from the firm are unclear.
Mr West has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Mr West took to Instagram last week to claim that he had lost $2 billion this week after Adidas and Gap abandoned lucrative ties with the rapper after a series of antisemitic tirades. He previously faces criticism for claiming that slavery had been a “choice,” and donning a shirt with the slogan“White Lives Matter” at a Paris fashion show earlier this month.
He was briefly suspended from Twitter and Instagram after writing that he would “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” a botched reference to the US military alert level ‘DEFCON 3’.
During an American football fixture between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia on Saturday evening, the words “Kanye is right about the Jews” were projected onto the TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
On Sunday the universities published a joint statement the following morning in which they slammed the projection of hate speech during the game.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry wrote via Twitter that the Florida city was “made better because of its diversity. Those who spread messages of hate, racism, and antisemitism will not be able to change the heart of this city or her people. I condemn these cowards and their cowardly messages."
During a match between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets on Sunday, a message created by the Combat Antisemitism NGO encouraged people to “#StandUptoJewishHate.”
Earlier in October, a banner displaying the message: “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “Honk if you know,” was held over a busy Los Angeles motorway. These events come amid rising concerns over anti-Jewish sentiment in the US, with the Anti-Defamation League recording 2,717 incidents of harassment, vandalism, or violence against Jews in 2021, the largest figure since its records began in 1979.
