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Kanye West’s behavior has been out of control for years. Threats, conspiracy theories, rants, and more have defined him in the public consciousness.
But direct, undeniable bigotry is worse. And Kanye West’s antisemitic rants certainly qualify.
Now, he is making things personal — making provably false claims about George Floyd’s murder. Yes, he’s echoing racist conspiracy theories again.
But the mother of Floyd’s daughter
Earlier this month, Kanye West said some truly vile things about the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
As we all remember, Derek Chauvin killed him, pinning him to the ground for more than nine minutes, preventing him from breathing.
Alongside a host of other police murders of Black Americans, Floyd’s murder sparked one of the largest civil rights protests in world history.
In a rare case of murderous police officers facing actual justice, a jury convicted Chauvin of murder in 2021.
But Kanye chose to question Floyd’s cause of death, repeating unhinged conspiracy theories spread by fringe right grifters.
Over the weekened, Ye blundered onto the topic during a now-removed “Drink Champs” episode.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out,” Ye said ominously.
“They hit him with fentanyl,” he falsely claimed.
“If you look,” Kanye insisted, “the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.” That is categorically false.
Where did Kanye come to believe these disproven and hurtful falsehoods?
Unfortunately, he attended the premiere of Candace Owens’ Daily Wire documentary: The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM.
Gross!
Black Lives Matter is a movement dedicated to opposing the murder of Black Americans at the hands of police.
Police who then seldom face any real consequences.
Through bribery or disinformation, the worst operatives on the fringe right rely upon recruiting members of minorities, to feign inclusiveness and as human shields against accusations of bigotry.
Kanye’s mental illness may make him vulnerable to conspiracy theories.
But we should be clear that his bigotry is not a mental illness.
It is possibly to be mentally ill and to, quite separately, be a terrible person. Kanye embodies that very well.
Most of us who have followed Kanye’s antics for many years see him as nothing more than a clown who desperately needs help.
(Again, bigotry is not an illness; he would still be a bad person on meds, but everyone deserves healthcare and dignity)
But Ye is stunningly influential. The man who spent years getting people to wear his hideous clothes and shoes should not be spouting white supremacist talking points.
Roxie Washington is the mother of George Floyd’s daughter.
She is planning to sue Kanye for “harassment, misappropriation, defamation” and for “infliction of emotional distress.” She’s seeking $250 million.
Per the news release, “Kanye West stated malicious falsehoods about George Floyd to profit from Mr. Floyd’s horrendous death and his family’s trauma.”
“Floyd’s daughter is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments,” attorneys then continued.
“And,” they then noted, “he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
Some of that may be difficult to prove. Other aspects could actually be extremely easy.
As we noted, Kanye has been inexplicably influential over a large number of people, well beyond his music.
Despite well over a decade of widely-publicized atrocious behavior and alarming statements, he has a lot of reach.
Even celebrities who become targets of his ire find their lives becoming worse.
Now imagine the daughter of a famous murder victim, and how she feels as this same man lies about her dad’s death.
It is unclear how Kanye allegedly plans to profit from these horrific statements. (His antisemitic rants are arguably costing him money)
But when it comes to inflicting mental and emotional pain and anguish? That should be fairly easy to prove.
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