Little more than a year ago, Kanye West’s latest excursion on his insatiable quest for any crumb of attention included proclaiming himself a Nazi on X (again). But that was old news by then. Few remember that West, whom I refuse to call “Ye,” has been perpetuating hateful ideology since the early 2010s, including comparing himself to Hitler onstage, making antisemitic comments on The Breakfast Club, and selling the Confederate Flag on the Yeezus tour. But since his 5150 in late 2016, he’s been on a downward spiral, reaching new levels of depravity with his behavior for a full decade.
These antics include, but are not limited to:
Antisemitism & white supremacy: Identified as a Nazi on Alex Jones, praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust, dined with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, debuted White Lives Matter shirts at Paris Fashion Week, posted a swastika on X, ran a Super Bowl ad selling swastika merch, and released a song titled “Heil Hitler” in May 2025.
Harassment & threats: Released a video depicting Pete Davidson being kidnapped, decapitated, and buried alive; urged fans to harass him publicly; hired PIs to surveil his current wife, Bianca Censori.
Harmful public statements: Called slavery a “choice,” claimed Harriet Tubman “never freed the slaves,” and publicly revealed he pressured Kim Kardashian to abort their daughter North — all while running for president.
Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves. She just had the slaves go work for other white people.
— Clubhouse Q&A, 2020
Despite his frequent, consistent, and alarming pattern of behavior, he has continued to move through elite cultural spaces largely unimpeded. He has graced the front rows of Paris, Milan, Berlin, London, and New York Fashion Weeks, attending shows for major fashion houses including Kenzo, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Burberry, Givenchy, and Marni, and even walking the Balenciaga runway himself. He performed on SNL multiple times, earned a Grammy nomination, and has remained a fixture on the festival and touring circuit — appearing on Travis Scott’s tours and headlining Rolling Loud 2024. Most recently, his 2026 album topped the charts, he sold out two nights at SoFi Stadium, grossing $33 million, attended by several celebs such as Dave Chappell and Erykah Badu. He was also recently announced as a headliner for Wireless Festival, based in London.
Some of my best friends are Jewish and I don’t trust any of them.”
On X/Twitter, February 2025
Ultimately, the line for Kanye West was finally drawn by the British, who denied his entry into the U.K., effectively canceling the Wireless Festival in its entirety. When it comes to famous American men, consequences come few and far between. Chris Brown is selling out arenas, and Louis C.K. is releasing a Netflix special in 2026.
Cancel culture, as Americans have come to understand it, has never been a neutral force applied to bad behavior. It is a selective mechanism — one that moves fast when women make men look bad, but allows men to wreak documented, repeated, legally actionable havoc… until they try to bring their chaos abroad. This uniquely American problem is a symptom of our Trumpism. When the most visible consequence for bad behavior (34 felony convictions, civil liability in a sexual abuse case, the infamous Access Hollywood tape, and even the implications in the Epstein Files) in America is the presidency (twice), the message to every powerful man below that threshold is clear. With a little bit of money comes power, and with power comes immunity. And with immunity comes audacity. Yet they hide behind the veil of “cancel culture” while breaking podcast streaming records.
"When you hear about slavery for 400 years — for 400 years? That sounds like a choice."
— TMZ Live, May 2018
When women in entertainment behave badly, or inconveniently, or publicly, or in ways that make powerful people uncomfortable — the industry moves fast. Taylor Frankie Paul lost her ticket out of an toxic relationship for her part in a crime that was public knowledge before she was ever cast. Zara Larsson lost a $3M brand deal over a social media comment. Britney Spears lost 13 years of her life to a conservatorship for shaving her head. In America, the most unforgivable thing a woman can do is embarrass her brand partners. The most forgivable thing a man can do is everything else.
I find it interesting that it seems to always be the UK that puts their foot down when the US won’t (Kanye barred, Chris Brown’s arrest) - also the only country so far to start arresting and investigating those in the Epstein files (Mandelson, Prince Andrew)