Rapper Kanye West, also known as “Ye,” ignited a fresh wave of backlash on Sunday after posting an image of a Ku Klux Klan robe to social media with the caption: “Outfit of the day.”
The post, widely condemned across social and political lines, was seen online as one of the most inflammatory of the 47-year-old rapper’s long string of controversial statements.
“This next album got that antisemitic sound. My new sound called antisemitic,” Mr. West posted to X on March 6, further fueling criticism and drawing condemnation from Jewish organizations and civil rights groups.
Mr. West’s Sunday post was met with immediate outrage on X. One user called the rapper “Ku Klux Kanye,” while another mocked him: “You’re dressing as a ghost because your career is dead?”
In the 1920s, the sale of the KKK robes was a key source of funding for the White supremacist group, which at its peak had an estimated 8 million members engaged in violent opposition to Black Americans, Jews, Catholics and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe.
“This is stupid and trolling but it’s also emblematic of much more, of the whole zeitgeist right now. Very little feels normal, dignified or simply decent in this cultural moment,” wrote cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams on X.
It remains unclear whether Mr. West’s statement was linked to “Bully,” an album the “Hey Mama” singer teased at the beginning of 2025. While he previously suggested the project would be released this year, no official date has been announced.
Mr. West, once one of the most influential figures in music and fashion, has seen his career suffer in the wake of repeated controversies. Major brands, such as Adidas, severed ties with him following his previous antisemitic remarks.
• Emma Ayers can be reached at eayers@washingtontimes.com.
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