LOS ANGELES., USA — Rapper and fashion designer Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has once again ignited controversy by selling T-shirts featuring swastikas on his Yeezy website, capping off a week filled with antisemitic and hateful remarks on his now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) account.
The scandal escalated Sunday, February 9, 2025 night when West aired a local TV ad during the Super Bowl, appearing to show himself recording a 30-second promo on his iPhone while sitting in a dentist’s office, directing viewers to his Yeezy website.
Although the ad aired during the Super Bowl, it was not a national commercial on Fox but rather a localized spot that appeared in only a few markets, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Fox, which does not control all advertisements on its affiliate networks, has not commented on the matter.
Backlash Over Swastika Merchandise
The $20 T-shirts, available for purchase on West’s Yeezy website, have drawn immediate condemnation from Jewish groups, anti-hate organizations, and celebrities.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a strong rebuke, stating, “The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy. There’s no excuse for this kind of behaviour.”
Shopify, the online e-commerce platform handling Yeezy orders, has not yet responded to request for comment on whether it will continue processing sales of the merchandise.
Hate Speech on X and Account Deactivation
For several days, West flooded his X account with virulently antisemitic, homophobic, and misogynistic remarks, targeting multiple groups.
While some of West’s posts were subject to visibility restrictions, preventing users from liking, replying, or sharing them, he remained active on the platform until Sunday evening, when he appeared to deactivate his own account.
“I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board,” West wrote in his final post.
Musk, who had previously reinstated West’s account in July 2023, responded to a user’s complaint about West posting explicit content by saying:
“Given what he has posted, his account is now classified as NSFW. You should not be seeing that anymore.”
West was previously suspended from Twitter in 2022 for what Musk called “incitement to violence.”
West’s Recent Comments and Business Fallout
The latest controversy comes just days after West claimed on a podcast that he had been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and instead believes he is on the autism spectrum.
He said this new diagnosis had helped him better understand himself and his actions.
Over the past two years, West’s incendiary remarks have led to the collapse of multiple business partnerships, including his lucrative deals with Gap and Adidas.
In 2022, CNN reported that several former associates claimed West had a long-standing fascination with Adolf Hitler and had once considered naming an album after the Nazi leader.
