NYT columnist thanks Ye for raising awareness on antisemitism

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens thanked Ye, the rapper formally known as Kanye West, for raising public awareness about antisemitism after several major companies cut ties with the performer over his antisemitic comments.

Stephens, who is Jewish, wrote in the Times this week he’d “like to express a sort of gratitude” to Ye.

“With a few outbursts in a few days — you threatened in a tweet this month to go ‘death con 3’ on ‘JEWISH PEOPLE’ and it’s been downhill from there — you’ve probably done more to raise public awareness about the persistence, prevalence and nature of antisemitism than any other recent event,” Stephens wrote.

Ye has sparked widespread condemnation, been temporarily banned from leading social media platforms and has lost a number of business partners over his recent antisemitic comments suggesting Jewish people control the media, politics and Hollywood.

The rapper is one of the most successful pop artists of all time, and experts in hate speech warn his rhetoric could embolden white supremacists and antisemites around the world.

“So far, this has been one of the most underreported stories in the country — itself a telling indicator in an era that is otherwise hyper-attuned to prejudice and hate,” Stephens wrote.

“Honest would also be admitting that you speak for more people than many Americans would have cared to admit. For that, but only that, you deserve thanks.”