Jennifer Aniston has supported her Friends co-star David Schwimmer in calling out rapper Kanye West for his anti-semitic tweets.
On Saturday (8 October), West, who legally changed his name to Ye, wrote in a since-deleted tweet: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” He added: “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda [sic]”
On Tuesday (11 October), Schwimmer shared his thoughts about how “anti-semitism is on the rise globally”. “Jews make up only 2.4 per cent of the population of the US but are the victims of more than 60 per cent of all religious hate crimes,” he wrote in an Instagram post. The 55-year-old actor went on to condemn West for his recent anti-semitic comments by calling him a “bigot”.
“Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there’s no question he is a bigot,” Schwimmer said. “His hate speech calls for violence against Jews. If you interpret his words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are racist. “If we don’t call someone as influential as Kanye out for his divisive, ignorant and anti-semitic words then we are complicit. Silence is complicity.” The Independent has contacted Ye’s representatives for comment.
“There is absolutely no room in this country or world for anti-semitism,” AOC wrote in a tweet on Sunday night. “It is important to see how harmful + dangerous Kanye’s words are – not only to our Jewish brothers, sisters, & siblings, but also to our collective society at large. We must reject this [rubbish emoji] wherever we see it.”
John Legend, a former friend of West’s, was also highly critical of the comments. “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti-semitism,” the musician wrote on Twitter.
