Kanye West posts ‘Heil Hitler’ video on VE Day, blaming custody row for antisemitic track
Rapper says “anger” over losing access to his children inspired song, released on anniversary of Nazi defeat
Kanye West has released a music video for his latest track, titled Heil Hitler, prompting renewed condemnation over his embrace of antisemitic themes and use of Nazi references.
The video was shared on 8 May via West’s official X account, the same day as VE Day, which commemorates the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. The timing of the release has intensified criticism, particularly from Jewish communities and campaigners.
In a post accompanying the video, West, who now goes by Ye, said the song was motivated by personal frustration. “These people took my kids from me and they froze my bank account,” he wrote. “I had so much anger inside me.”
The video includes choreographed scenes of shirtless men draped in animal skins chanting in what many viewers interpreted as fascist-style pageantry. Major platforms removed the content for violating hate speech policies, but it continues to circulate on fringe sites.
West’s history of antisemitic statements is well documented. In one post, he declared “I’m a Nazi” and “I don’t like or trust no Jewish person… this is completely sober with no Hennessy.”
In April, he posted a photo of Adolf Hitler alongside a GOAT emoji, commonly used to mean “Greatest of All Time”. That post was viewed over 1.7 million times before being taken down.
Despite previous bans, including from X for praising Hitler, West’s account was reinstated in 2023 under Elon Musk’s free speech reforms. When Jewish News approached the platform at the time, X responded: “Kanye West hasn’t broken our safety policies.”
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