Kanye West Twitter: Rapper Ye allowed back on social media site by Elon Musk after being banned for months

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West, Ye, has been allowed back on Twitter, now X - months after he was banned from the social media platform for his antisemitic comments.

A few months ago, Ye’s Twitter account was locked and he was unable to use his social media account due to breaking the rules prohibiting incitement to violence and against hate speech, but on Saturday 29 July his account was live again. 

The controversial star allegedly gained access to his account once more after telling staff at the platform, which is owned by Elon Musk, that he wouldn’t use it to share antisemitic or otherwise harmful language again, according to The Wall Street Journal. Presumably, Musk had the final say on whether or not West was allowed back on the site, so it seems that the billionaire may have no hard feelings after West questioned his heritage on Instagram back in December.

So, just why was Kanye West banned from Twitter in the first place, and what has he said on his Twitter account now he’s back online? Here’s what you need to know.

Why was Kanye West banned from Twitter?

Kanye West’s Twitter account was locked due to alleged antisemitic posts he made. During the night of Saturday 15 October, West supposedly wrote a now deleted tweet that he was going to go “defcon 3” on Jewish people, an apparent allusion to the US military preparedness condition scale known as Defcon. He also alleged that he wasn’t “anti semitic because black people are actually Jew”.

In November, he did then have his account reinstated - but then allegedly posted an image which appeared to show a swastika symbol inside a Star of David which prompted his account to be locked again once more.

Musk, who purchased Twitter in October allegedly told West: 'Sorry, but you have gone too far. This is not love' in a text message shared by the rapper before the ban took effect. West hit back and asked Musk who had made him the judge. 

Musk then took to his own Twitter page to address the situation. He wrote “I tried my best,” after West’s Twitter account was locked for the second time. “Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,” he added.

Losing access to his Twitter account wasn’t the only price West had to pay for his comments. He also lost several high profile partnerships, including one with sportswear giant Adidas and another with designer brand Balenciaga. His waxwork figure was also removed from Madame Tussauds. 

What has Kanye West said now he’s back on Twitter?

West has yet to post on his Twitter account again at the time of writing on Sunday 30 July.

The artist may be back on the platform, but he will have some restrictions. He will not be eligible to monetise his account, a new feature added by Musk for paid subscribers, while advertisements won’t appear next to his posts either, according to a report seen by The Wall Street Journal. His profile has, however, still been granted a gold check mark, something which has been reserved for 'official business accounts' according to the platform.