Instagram suspends Kanye West for hate speech after inflammatory Trevor Noah post
Instagram suspended Kanye West’s account Wednesday for a day after the rapper violated some of the social media platform’s policies.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Instagram restricted the “Donda” artist from posting, commenting and sending direct messages, among other actions, on the app for 24 hours.
The company — which also deleted content from West’s page that it said fell under the categories of hate speech, bullying and harassment — vowed to take further action against West should he continue to break its rules.
The suspension comes shortly after West — who legally changed his name to Ye — directed a racist slur at “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah in response to remarks the comedian made about the musician’s recent behavior toward his ex, Kim Kardashian, and her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson.
‘Kim Kardashian, if she cannot escape this, then what chance do normal women have?,’ Trevor Noah says of rapper Kanye West’s treatment of his ex wife.
Lashing out at Noah was just the latest in a series of online outbursts from Ye, who has relentlessly targeted reality TV star Kardashian and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Davidson via Instagram, music videos and song lyrics since the divorce.
Noah responded Wednesday to Ye’s since-deleted post in a lengthy Instagram comment expressing his admiration and concern for the hip-hop star.
“There are few artists who have had more of an impact on me than you Ye,” Noah replied, according to screenshots verified by the comic’s team.
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“You took samples and turned them into symphonies ... You’re an indelible part of my life Ye. Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this. I don’t care if you support Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete. I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain.”
Reacting directly to the slur, Noah added, “clearly some people graduate but we still stupid. Don’t ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree. Tricking us into dividing ourselves up into splinters so that we would never unite into a powerful rod.”
On a less serious note, Noah also called Ye’s delivery of the insult — written in the style of the gospel classic “Kumbaya, My Lord” — “funny as s—.” During Tuesday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Noah likened Ye’s treatment of Kardashian to abuse.
Not long after pulling his violent ‘Eazy’ video from Instagram, Ye debuted another one featuring a skinned monkey pummeling his ex’s beau, Pete Davidson.
“What [Kardashian is] going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” Noah said. “People always say that phrase to women. They go, ‘Why didn’t you leave?’ ... Because a lot of women realize when they do leave, the guy will get even crazier. And when I say ‘crazy,’ I don’t mean ‘mental health crazy ...
“What we’re seeing ... is one of the most powerful, one of the richest women in the world, unable to get her ex to stop texting her, to stop chasing after her, to stop harassing her,” he continued. “Just think about that for a moment. Think about how powerful Kim Kardashian is, and she can’t get that to happen.”
Ye’s discography and celebrity mean he can still headline mega music festivals. But his latest outbursts and threats may be too much for fans to bear.
To underscore his point, Noah recalled the devastating moment he learned that his mother had survived being shot in the head and leg by her ex-husband. His former stepfather was convicted of attempted murder.
“I’m not saying Kanye will” physically harm Kardashian, Noah said. “I’m not saying that. But you see it in all these stories where people say, ‘We saw it, but we didn’t...’”
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