Graduating from Ye

Ye returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, Feb. 7 — and boy did he tweet.

The rapper, who legally changed his name from Kanye West to Ye in 2021, is a simultaneously famous and infamous character, beloved by many for his musical genius and condemned by others for his controversial history. He was removed from X in December 2022 because of racist and antisemitic posts that violated the app’s guidelines, The Associated Press reported.

I’m not afraid to admit I used to be a huge Ye fan. In the era of “Graduation” and “808s and Heartbreaks,” I would’ve gone as far as to label Ye as a musical visionary — and in many ways he still is. 

But his behavior has made it impossible to stay a fan, much less support anything he creates or produces. Ye has gone from erratic and eccentric to downright abhorrent — I believe there’s no more separating the art from the artist when it comes to him.

Ye’s return to X was brief — lasting Feb. 7-10 before he was suspended again — but the damage was monumental, fully tainting his reputation as a serious artist.

In the 36 hours Ye was allowed back on the app, he made tweets about “hailing Hitler,” hating “fat women,” freeing Diddy and just generally spewing hate toward countless groups. This wasn’t the first time Ye has run rampant on social media, but his recent slew of tweets were out of control. 

In the past, Ye’s outbursts have been a point of contention, with the main argument on his behalf being his struggles with mental illness — a hardship he’s been quite public about. I too once argued Ye could redeem himself if he sought treatment or apologized for past statements. After all, how could a man who creates such powerful music be irredeemable?

But now he’s lost any right to a defense. Mental illness isn’t an excuse for blatant racism, misogyny or hate. Frankly, Ye’s behavior has only further contributed to negative stigmas surrounding those who also struggle with mental illness. He is the prime example of an artist becoming unapologetically hateful — a boundary that shouldn’t be crossed.

Many artists have said controversial things, like Chappell Roan’s convoluted election TikToks or Blake Lively’s bizarre “Khaleesi” texts to Justin Baldoni. However, Roan and Lively’s odd behaviors were reflections of external factors or pressures — not blatant eruptions of internalized hate.

Ye, on the other hand, has shown no signs of learning or growing from prior tirades. In fact, he’s only gotten worse. The once-adorned musical genius has become nothing but a beacon of hate who deserves no defense. 

Upon his departure from X, Ye publicly thanked Elon Musk for “allowing him to vent,” according to The Los Angeles Times — but venting is absolutely no excuse for hate speech. 

The topic of free speech seems to be heavy on the minds of Americans after the brief TikTok ban and the inauguration of Donald Trump, who’s notorious for promoting hate speech himself. These ever-changing political dynamics beg the question — where should free speech stop?

Ye’s tweets were entirely centered around hate. He didn’t post inciteful political arguments or express educated beliefs — I’d even argue his tweets toed the line of spreading fake news. Ye is an influential figure. In a public space, his words are dangerous. 

Ye’s account was suspended in 2022 because Musk himself said it was inciting violence. Unfortunately, history seems to be repeating itself — but now, with even less accountability from the world’s wealthiest man. 

America has backslid enough after Trump’s inauguration. The last thing we need is celebrities encouraging the public to heil Hitler and hate women. Not to mention, this was Ye’s second chance at speaking in a public forum and, once again, he chose to spread anger and hate — a category of speech undeserving of protection or justification.

His musical repertoire has been forever tainted by his words. No matter how good “Graduation” was, it no longer has a place on my playlists.