X, previously Twitter, reinstates Kanye West’s account after 8-month suspension

During the autumn of last year, West shared an image that seemingly depicted a swastika intertwined with a Star of David, leading tycoon Elon Musk, who had acquired the platform just weeks before, to suspend the artist from X. Musk, in that period, categorized West’s post as an “incitement to violence.”

The rapper, now professionally known as Ye, reportedly reassured the platform that he would refrain from sharing any antisemitic content or using harmful language on his account, according to the Journal.

West faced significant repercussions in lost business deals due to his anti-Semitic remarks last year. After a nearly decade-long partnership, Adidas severed ties with him, resulting in the abandonment of his Yeezy-branded sneakers.

In May, the German company reported that the termination of their highly successful collaboration with West had a negative impact on sales, amounting to approximately 400 million euros (US$441 million) in the first quarter of the year.

In addition to Adidas, Gap and Balenciaga also ended their associations with the rapper and designer.

After Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in October of last year, the platform witnessed significant changes, including the termination of thousands of employees and reduced content moderation.

In December, Musk reinstated former president Donald Trump’s Twitter account, but as of now, Trump has not made a return to the platform.

Just a week ago, Musk and the newly appointed chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, revealed the rebranding of Twitter as X. They announced their vision for X to transform into an “everything app,” enabling users to manage all their financial matters alongside socializing features.

Updated: 30 Jul 2023, 01:41 PM IST