Kanye West Receives 24-Hour Instagram Suspension For Hate Speech, Bullying

Mason Joseph Zimmer
claymation model of Kanye West standing next to claymation flowers and model of Pete Davidson's head
instagram | @kanyewest

Whether you've wanted to or not, you've likely heard that in the months since Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce from Kanye West (who has legally changed his name to "Ye"), the rapper has engaged in a public feud with both her and her new partner, Pete Davidson.

But while Davidson is far from the only enemy West has made in the time since, his public treatment of Davidson and his ex-wife have drawn widespread accusations of harassment and potentially creating an unsafe situation for the comedian.

And while those considerations appeared to factor into the decision by Instagram's parent company Meta to suspend his account, a more recent action by the rapper likely served as the last straw.

For the next 24 hours, West will not be able to post on Instagram, nor can he comment on the posts of others or send direct messages.

Kanye West hodling up notepad saying his Instagram account was not hacked
reddit | GirlOnDaMoon

According to the BBC, Meta has also deleted content from his account, which appears noticeably more sparse than it had earlier this month.

In a statement to the outlet, Meta said West violated their policies against hate speech, bullying, and harassment and pledges to take additional steps if he racks up further violations after his return.

This comes after a period in which West apparently waged a public campaign against Davidson (whom he has largely nicknamed "Skete,") and made potentially threatening statements about him in multiple songs.

text between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West about Pete Davidson
reddit | ArTooDeeTooTattoo

As we can see in this text from Kardashian that West made public via a now-deleted Instagram post, she believed that the way West riled his fans against Davidson (including requests for them to "scream on him" if they see him in person) has threatened the comedian's safety.

The act of posting these texts, his public gestures apparently aimed to win her back, and his disparagement of Davidson have all drawn widespread condemnation as harassing and dangerous behavior.

Such criticisms intensified when West released a video for his song "Eazy," which depicted a claymation model of himself murdering and burying a model of Davidson.

claymation model of Kanye West standing next to claymation flowers and model of Pete Davidson's head
instagram | @kanyewest

Shortly after this transpired, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah criticized West's actions towards Kardashian in particular, calling them "terrifying."

In his words, "You may not feel sorry for Kim because she's rich and famous. But what she's going through is terrifying to watch and shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave."

And West's response to these comments has likely served as the most direct catalyst for his suspension.

According to the BBC, he posted a screenshot of a Google search for Noah accompanied by a caption in which he replaced some of the lyrics of the song "Kumbaya, My Lord" to include a racial slur.

Although the post has since been removed, it appears that the damage has been done.

h/t: BBC