After being banned from the social media site for months, rapper Ye's (formerly known as Kanye West) account was restored when Twitter's owner Elon Musk renamed the platform X.
Ye, however, will not be able to make money off of his X account, and neither will advertisements display alongside his postings. Since Ye's reinstatement on Saturday, July 29, he has not made a single post.
The gold check mark intended to be designated for official business accounts is still there on his profile.
Also Read: New Twitter 'X' Branding Could Lead to Lawsuit; IP Lawyers Explain Why
Ye's Twitter Account Reintated by Musk
In December 2022, barely two months after Ye had already been banned from Instagram and Twitter for a series of controversial posts, including one that seemed to represent a symbol combining a swastika and the Star of David, Ye's account was again blocked. His content was promptly deleted from both services.
His final tweet came on December 1, 2022, one day before Musk deactivated his account.
According to Daily Mail, Ye's ban came after he sent a string of anti-Semitic tweets over the course of many months. He was banned from Twitter "for incitement to violence" after he shared a photo of the Nazi party's insignia and the Jewish holy symbol side by side.
A few hours before the post was published, Ye had caused a stir by expressing his "love" for Nazis and his respect for Adolf Hitler in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
After Ye's account was frozen for 12 hours and he was unable to tweet, it was eventually suspended.
Despite Musk's reputation for a more laid-back approach to content filtering, he told Ye, "Sorry, but you have gone too far. This is not love," in a text message that the rapper shared before the ban went into force.
After Twitter removed Ye's abusive comment and briefly suspended his account, Musk said he had again violated the ban against inciting violence, thus, the suspension of the account.
As a result, Ye lost access to Twitter and Instagram and had potential business opportunities fall through.
Following Ye's run of hateful anti-Semitic statements, several companies abandoned him, including Adidas, Balenciaga, Vogue, and GAP. The artist had no remorse and repeatedly refused to apologize in interviews.
This has led to a significant decrease in his wealth. During the same week, he concluded his divorce from ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
Adidas Cutting Ties With Ye
Adidas said on Friday, July 28, that after cutting its ties with Ye, the brand will launch a second batch of its high-end Yeezy shoes. The company plans to give the money it makes from selling those unsold shoes to organizations working to combat antisemitism.
Starting on Wednesday, August 2, the German sportswear brand will have another online sale through its smartphone app and website after a string of discounts in May. There will be a wide variety of Yeezys to choose from, including the Yeezy Boost 350 V2, Yeezy Boost 500, Yeezy Boost 700, Yeezy Slide, and Yeezy Foam RNR.
