Kanye West has announced that he’s going to be taking “a verbal fast” – not talking to anyone, drinking any alcohol, watching X-rated films or having sex for 30 days.
The rapper, who has faced a backlash following antisemitic remarks, told his 31.8 million Twitter followers: “I’m not talking to nooobody for a month”.
A handwritten-style post below said: “I’m taking a 30-day cleanse. A verbal fast. No alcohol. No adult films. No intercourse. In God we praise. Amen.”
However, West seemed to signal that his “fast” didn’t stretch to social media, adding: “But my Twitter still lit”.
The 45-year-old, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, has only just had his Twitter account re-instated. His account was locked after he posted that he was “going death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE” before alleging he wasn’t “antisemitic because black people are actually Jew also”.
He also accused record producer Sean “Diddy” Combs of being controlled by “the Jewish people” in a post on Instagram.
He is currently locked out of Instagram for 30 days after violating their policies too.
Just this week an ex-collaborator alleged West had a “disgusting, hate-filled, strange Nazi obsession“, with six other people saying they had heard him praise Adolf Hitler or mention conspiracy theories about Jewish people, according to NBC news.
West has also made several other controversial remarks recently, including suggestions slavery was “a choice” and calling the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast”.
Many looked on in disbelief as he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt during Paris Fashion Week in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks hate groups, says White Lives Matter is a neo-Nazi group.
In an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, West also made several remarks about Jews and money.
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Explained: Kanye West’s antisemitism controversy
Read more: Kanye West – What rapper said and how people have reacted
Numerous celebrities have spoken out against his behaviour, including his ex-wife Kim Kardashian who said on social media: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”
She has previously spoken about West’s struggles with bipolar disorder, saying in 2020: “Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions”.
West’s career has taken a nose-dive since his slew of comments, and he is no longer believed to be a billionaire.
So far, repercussions include being ditched by his talent agency and bank JP Morgan, as well as seeing brands including Balenciaga, Foot Locker, Adidas and Gap cut ties.
Skechers’ corporate office in LA also escorted him off the premises after he “showed up unannounced and uninvited”.
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A completed documentary about him has also been shelved, and Madame Tussauds in London has removed its waxwork of him from public view.
West is currently in the process of buying alternative messaging platform Parler – which pitches itself as a “viewpoint-neutral social media app dedicated to freedom of expression, civil discourse, and user privacy” – with the takeover expected to complete later this year.
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