“Well, I see good things about Hitler also”- When Kanye West shocked the world with his anti-semitic comments

Kanye West is used to making headlines. Last December, the artist was in the news for the Hitler-loving comments he made while on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ talk show Infowars. West made his comments when the two were discussing the uproar caused by the rapper's previous anit-Semitic remarks. Jones noted that West’s previous statements didn’t make him a nazi. Jones also said that West didn’t deserve to be deprecated for it. In response, West said:

“Well, I see good things about Hitler also. I love everyone, and Jewish people are not going to tell me, ‘You can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography…” West said.

When Kanye West further elaborated on liking Hitler, he credited him with bringing microphones and highways to the world.

“…But this guy that invented highways and invented the very microphone I use as a musician. You can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classifications,” West said.

Kanye West has made numerous controversial remarks which have landed him in trouble with netizens (Image via Getty)

Kanye West, who has won 21 Grammy Awards, went a step ahead and clarified the intent behind his opinions about Hitler.

“Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler. How about that one?” West said.

Later, when the interview was moving on to a commercial break, West spoke into the microphone the words that caused a great disturbance on the internet.

“I like Hitler,” West said, as the camera focused away from him.

Just a couple of hours into the interview’s broadcast, Kanye West was suspended from Twitter for "violating our rules against incitement to violence."

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Kanye West says he loves Nazis and Jews

The Infowars interview with Alex Jones intensified the Nazi and Jewish discussion when the conversation reached a point where the host disagreed with some of West’s statements and said that he thought most of the Jews were great people, irrespective of the Jewish mafia. West responded with love for everyone, including the Nazis.

“I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis. I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis,” West said.

Infowars is a conspiracy theory and news website launched by Alex Jones in 1999 under Free Speech Systems LLC (Image via Infowars)

Jones went on in the interview to say that West might have a Hitler fetish hanging over him to which the "Jesus Walks" singer replied in disagreement.

“It’s not a fetish. I just like information,” West said.

The ear-grabbing interview also saw West restate his comments about loving Hitler just as much as Zionism.

"I do love Hitler. I do love the Zionists,” West said.

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Kanye’s history of anti-semitic remarks and their repercussions on his net worth

This isn’t Kanye West’s anti-semitic comment debut. According to the BBC, the "I Wonder" rapper faced an Instagram and Twitter lockdown in October 2022 for multiple tweets that seemed to target and pose a threat to Jewish people.

Kanye West was part of another controversy when he wore a 'White Lives Matter' t-shirt at Paris Fashion Week, October 2022 (Image via Getty)

West's anti-semitic comments forced brands that associated themselves with the artist to end their professional relationships with the star.

Kanye West launched his brand Yeezy in 2009 (Image via Getty)

Adidas released an official statement on October 25, 2022, stating their reasons for terminating their partnership with West's brand Yeezy.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.

"After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Joining the list of companies that dropped West included fashion house Balenciaga, GAP, JP Morgan, and Creative Artists Agency.

West's net worth took a beating as a result of big names dropping him from their partnerships. Forbes reported that, without Adidas to his name, his net worth fell to $400 million, dropping him from Forbes’ billionaire list.