Kanye West has faced backlash for a television advertisement that promotes a website selling a T-shirt featuring a swastika during the Super Bowl. In the ad, he is seen lying down and states, “I spent all the money for the commercial on these new teeth, so once again I had to shoot it on the iPhone… go to Yeezy.com.” The website currently displays only a single T-shirt with a swastika on the front, accompanied by the code “HH-01,” which is thought to reference “Heil Hitler.”
The advertisement aired in the Los Angeles area during the Super Bowl but was not broadcast nationwide. This incident follows West’s recent deactivation of his X account after making additional antisemitic remarks last week. His final post read: “I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate [X owner] Elon [Musk] for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board. It was like an Ayahuasca trip. Love all of you who gave me your energy and attention. Until we connect again. Good afternoon and goodnight.”
On Friday, West made several controversial posts, including statements like “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi,” prompting the Campaign Against Antisemitism to urge Musk to ban him. The organization condemned the T-shirt listing as a troubling example of West’s harmful prejudice, stating, “The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy.”
West, also known as Ye, has been suspended from Twitter multiple times in the past. In October 2022, his account was restricted due to antisemitic comments, but he returned the following month, leading to Adidas terminating their lucrative partnership with him. He was locked out again two months later after posting content that included a swastika inside a Star of David. Musk, who rebranded Twitter as X in 2023, stated that the suspension was “for incitement to violence,” but West’s account was reinstated the following summer.
