Meta has suspended billionaire rapper-producer Kanye West's Instagram account for 24 hours for using racist slurs in posts on the platform.
West's series of attacks against former wife Kim Kardashian, her current partner Pete Davidson, and Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Instagram led to the suspension, as they violated site policies on hate speech, harassment, and bullying.
Kanye West Miffed at Trevor Noah's Defense of Kim Kardashian
But the impetus for the ban was West's now-deleted, racial slur-filled Instagram post against Noah, who defended Kardashian over what he calls public harassment amid the "Kim-Kanye-Pete situation," CNET reported. Noah had said he felt sorry for Kim in a segment of The Daily Show on Tuesday, saying what she goes through is "terrifying to watch" and shows what women go through when they choose to end a relationship.
Noah also shared his experiences growing up in an abusive home. He told his audience that people told his mother that she was "overreacting" before his stepfather had shot her in the head. This experience made him empathize with Kim Kardashian, who was granted a divorce from West last year. Since then she and her current partner Davidson were at the receiving end of a deluge of social media attacks from West.
West, who has now legally changed his name to Ye, had been taking shots at Davidson for months, including a music video for his song "Eazy" that showed the comedian being kidnapped and buried alive.
On Wednesday morning, West posted a screenshot of a 2019 Breitbart headline about Davidson enraging his audience about jokes of having sex with a baby, giving clear proof that Davidson should not be allowed to get near children, the Daily Mail noted in a report.
"SKETE gotta stay away from my children," Kanye indicated in the post, further charging that Davidson had a "mental breakdown" over their continuing feud.
West also posted on Wednesday being "really concerned" that Davidson would get Kardashian "hooked on drugs" and demanded that he "apologize to your family for being in your family."
West's post against Noah had replaced lyrics to the song "Kumbaya" with a racial epithet. "All in together now ... K**n baya my lord koon baya K**n baya my lord Koon baya Oooo' lord K**n baya," West posted.
"Kumbaya," a 1926 song performed by Gullah Geechie singer H Wylie, was a prayer to God from people seeking help as they faced oppression.
No Instagram Posts, Comments, DMs from Kanye for One Day
Over the next 24 hours, West's Instagram account will be restricted, with posts, comments, or direct messages disallowed. Despite this, however, his account remains visible to users, who can also leave comments on his posts.
Meta indicated that it shall consider taking further action if West continued to violate Instagram policies.
West is not the first big name to get a suspension from Instagram. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had likewise been banned from the social media site in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
