Kanye West's 'White Lives Matter' Drama: Everything to Know

August 2024 · 2 minute read

Kanye West is dealing with the fallout from his Paris Fashion Week scandal, during which he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt, slammed a Vogue editor for her criticism, and, later, was temporarily restricted from multiple social media outlets after sharing an anti-semitic message.

The “Famous” rapper first made waves on October 3 when wearing the controversial tee at his Yeezy season 9 collection show. The backlash was swift, and West took aim at one critic in particular — Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, whom he mocked on social media for her own fashion choices.

Things only got messier in the following days, as West went on to share Instagram posts about his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, claiming that she and her family “kidnapped” their daughter Chicago and refused to let him see her at her 4th birthday party, allegations he originally made earlier this year (and the Kardashians previously denied).

Khloé Kardashian stepped into the fray to beg her former brother-in-law to stop his rants, which only made the “Jesus Walks” artist double down on his comments even more.

On October 7, West sat down for a controversial interview on Tucker Carlson‘s Fox News show, during which he explained the reason why he chose to wear the shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter” on the back.

“I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right,” the designer explained. “It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God and just brilliance.

He added: “People, they’re looking for an explanation, and people say, ‘Well, as an artist you don’t have to give an explanation,’ but as a leader, you do. So the answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do. It’s the obvious thing.”

The next day, after sharing an anti-semitic message via Instagram, the Chicago native’s account was restricted by Meta, Instagram’s parent company, for violating its rules and guidelines. His Twitter account was also temporarily locked.

“I burst into tears,” Jamie Lee Curtis told Hoda Kotb about seeing West’s remarks. “I woke up and burst into tears. Defcon 3 on Jewish people? What are you doing?”

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She added, “It’s bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world. But on Twitter, on a portal, to pour that in? As if Jewish people haven’t had it hard enough?”

Keep scrolling for everything to know about West’s Paris Fashion Week scandal, the aftermath and all the drama surrounding it:

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