Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked due to posts by the rapper, now legally known as Ye, that are widely seen as anti-Semitic.
A Twitter spokesperson said Sunday that Ye posted a message that violated its policies.
In a tweet sent on Saturday night, Ye said he would be going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” soon, according to the Internet Archive. This is an apparent reference to the American military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.
In the same tweet, which was deleted by Twitter, he said, “You played with me and tried to test anyone who opposes your agenda.”
Earlier this month, Ye was criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt in his collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he didn’t support the shirt and urged people not to buy it.
On Instagram, Ye posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy and suggested he was controlled by Jews, according to media reports.
Ye’s Instagram account was locked on Friday for violating the policy, according to media reports. Spokespersons for Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms, did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the information.
Under their policies, both social networks prohibit the posting of offensive language. Ye’s Twitter account is still active but he cannot post until the suspension ends, after an indefinite period.
Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday after a nearly two-year hiatus, reportedly after Instagram locked his account.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who last week renewed his US$44 billion bid to buy Twitter after a month-long legal battle with the company, welcomed Ye’s return to the platform before his suspension, tweeting “Welcome on Twitter, my friend”.
Musk said he would turn Twitter into a free-speech haven and ease restrictions, though it’s unclear exactly how he would run the influential network if he were to take over.