Kanye West renounced antisemitism hours after a deadly D.C. shooting targeting a Jewish couple, then reposted his “Heil Hitler” song shortly after.
Kanye West declared he was “done with antisemitism” on Wednesday (May 22), just hours after two Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
The victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were a couple planning to get engaged. They were gunned down near 3rd and F streets NW around 9 p.m. local time after leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
The suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from West’ s hometown of Chicago, was arrested at the scene and reportedly shouted, “Free, free Palestine” during his capture, according to ABC News.
Just hours later, West posted a string of messages on X, formerly Twitter, suggesting a spiritual awakening.
“I am done with antisemitism,” he wrote. “I love all people.”
In another post, he added, “TRUE PEACE COMES FROM GOD’S TRUTH TURN AWAY FROM FAME’S ILLUSION AND FIND THE REAL LOVE IS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN ALL PEOPLE CROSS IT AND LEAVE DIVISION IN THE DUST.”
He followed that with, “God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused.”
But the apparent change of heart didn’t last.
Roughly an hour after his public renunciation, West reposted a video showing a group of men from his “choir” chanting lyrics from his banned track “Heil Hitler” while standing on Diddy’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The antisemitic shooting and West’s posts came within hours of each other, drawing attention to the timing of his sudden apology.
The rapper, who has repeatedly made inflammatory remarks about Jewish people, previously said in February, “I love Hitler,” “I’m a Nazi” and “IM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS (sic).”
West’s latest song, “Heil Hitler,” has been removed from nearly all major streaming platforms except for Twitter (X), where he continues to share antisemitic content.
His concert in South Korea was also canceled in response to the controversy over the song, but he believes is art.
