Kanye West Isn’t The First Celebrity To Be Silenced On Twitter – If Musk Takes Control Of The Service Ye Could Be The Last

This weekend rapper Kanye West, who has a long history of often saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, had his Twitter account locked for posting a now-deleted anti-Semitic tweet that came after the singer had his Instagram account restricted.

West, who now goes by the name “Ye,” had posted on Twitter he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE” – apparently confused over the spelling of the military term “DEFCON” – while adding, “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone who opposes your agenda.”

Twitter had confirmed to CNN on Monday that West’s account was locked for violating Twitter’s policies. The tweet has since been replaced on the account by a message from the company stating, “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”

The social media service did not specify which policy(s) was violated, but its guidelines bar the posting of hateful content. Twitter has also not confirmed how long West’s account would be locked or when the rapper could tweet again. Twitter’s decision to put West in a “timeout” comes days after Meta-owned Instagram also restricted the celebrity’s account for violating its terms of use.

West has been almost uncharacteristically silent on the matter.

In “Good Company”

West is certainly not the first celebrity to face a Twitter ban – and by most accounts, it would seem that Courtney Love, who had been sued for tweets made in 2009, may have the dubious distinction of being the first A-lister to face a suspension. She was banned in January 2011 but was subsequently allowed to create a new account.

Rapper Azealia Banks, political activist Milo Yiannopoulos, alt-right radio show host Alex Jones, and former President Donald Trump are also just a few celebrities who have faced a ban from Twitter.

Yet, it appears that if the sale of the platform to Elon Musk goes through, there is a chance the service may be far less restrictive in what it allows to be posted. Musk, who sees himself as a free-speech absolutist, could transform Twitter and loosen the rules considerably.

Should that be the case, West/Ye could become one of the last celebrities – even the final celebrity – to face such a ban or other time out.

“It is entirely plausible,” said brand media consultant and social media pundit Scott Steinberg. “Musk has also often said things that are lightning rods for controversy.”

In fact, in just the past week, Musk offered his personal opinions via Twitter on how the war in Ukraine could be resolved and also suggested that Taiwan reunify with mainland China under certain conditions. Although both suggestions received mixed reactions, the comments were far from some of the outrageous statements made on the platform.

With Musk in charge, it could get even more extreme.

“Celebrities could have an open mic, no matter how left of center or far-fetched their statements may be,” warned Steinberg.

Timeouts Are Necessary

In many ways, a “timeout” via a suspension can be used as a necessary kill switch with controversial conversations, suggested Steinberg.

“A number of public figures could benefit from such a timeout,” he explained. “We have to understand that words have meaning. Even as free speech should be celebrated, there are a lot of things where the less said is for the best. We should be forced to walk in someone else’s shoes before we make statements that can so easily offend others.”

A bigger issue is that too often people can tweet without thinking. It certainly seems that West is in the crowd to do just that.

“We have to also understand that social media arrived less than two decades ago, and we have no training in how to use it, nor is basic etiquette online something that we’re ever taught,” added Steinberg. “At the same time, public scrutiny for everything we say has increased. Now we have to deal with all those consequences.”