“The Trouble With KanYe” examines both the rapper’s development and his anti-Semitic statements.
In a new film about Kanye West, the rapper makes negative comments about the Jewish population. In his view, “the Jewish people stopped him.” The statement comes from the current TV documentary “The Trouble With KanYe”.
The documentary is a production of the British broadcaster BBC. Led by investigative journalist Mobeen Azhar, it explores, according to the BBC press release, “the complex journey that led to Ye becoming one of the most celebrated and creatively successful artists of his generation, but more recently to condemnation and notoriety” – including his anti-Semitic remarks.
The work includes interviews with people from Kanye West’s immediate and wider environment. Among them is a conversation with tech entrepreneur Alex Klein, who worked on Ye’s current album DONDA 2. In an interview, he says the musician told him he was “just like the other Jews”. When Klein then asked him if he really believed that all Jewish people would work together to stop Ye from doing what he was doing, Kanye West answered in the affirmative.
It’s not the first time the rapper has made anti-Semitic statements. In October of last year he tweeted, among other things: “Death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE”, which can be translated as “death to the Jews”. In another tweet, he shared a picture of a Jewish star with a swastika in the middle.
As a result of statements of this nature, Kanye West has already lost his endorsement deals with Balenciaga, Adidas and GAP. In addition, he was stripped of his honorary doctorate from the School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago. Adidas later donated the proceeds from leftover Yeezy shoes to organizations fighting anti-Semitism.
Then, in March 2023, Ye posted a post featuring the 21 Jump Street (2012) movie poster on his Instagram with the caption, “When I saw Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street, I became like a Jewish people again,” he explained. “No one should turn anger at one or two individuals into hatred at millions of people,” he continued. “No Christian can be called an anti-Semite if he knows that Jesus is a Jew.”
The documentary “The Trouble With KanYe” was first broadcast on the British channel on July 28, 2023 BBC Two aired and has a running time of 74 minutes.