Amid antisemitic rants, Kanye West Super Bowl ad plugs site selling only swastika hoodie
X account of musician now known as ‘Ye’ goes offline after days-long posting streak that included designer, self-identified as a ‘Nazi,’ making multiple antisemitic statements
Among the star-studded Super Bowl ads that many viewers saw during Sunday’s game was an awkward 30-second spot, filmed vertically on an iPhone, in which the rapper Ye — formerly Kanye West — talked about his new teeth and instructed the audience to go to Yeezy.com.
As of the morning after the game, when they visited the site, shoppers could find exactly one item for sale: a white T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika.
The T-shirt, which comes in three sizes and sells for $20, is the latest in a long series of blatantly antisemitic acts and statements by West, 47, who has legally changed his name to Ye.
The ad aired on some local Super Bowl broadcasts just days after Ye embarked on his latest antisemitic rant on the social network X, declaring his dislike for Jews, praising Adolf Hitler and calling himself a Nazi. On Sunday night, he announced he was quitting the platform.
The T-shirt is labeled “HH-01,” using a common neo-Nazi shorthand for “Heil Hitler.”
Yeezy, West’s fashion label, was one of the more prominent casualties of his initial stream of antisemitic remarks in the fall of 2022. Following public backlash, the sportswear company Adidas dropped its $2 billion-a-year partnership with Yeezy.
In Sunday’s ad, Ye somewhat haltingly tries to promote the brand.
“What’s up, guys? I just spent like all the money for the commercial, um, on these new teeth,” Ye says in the ad, wearing a blue hoodie and displaying his teeth. “So, once again I had to shoot it on the iPhone. Um, um, um, go to Yeezy.com.”
“As if we needed further proof of Kanye’s antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website – a t-shirt emblazoned with a swastika,” the ADL said in a statement.
“The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy.”
“There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience,” the ADL statement added.
Ye off X
Meanwhile, West’s account on X, formerly Twitter, was deactivated on Monday after a days-long rant on the platform that included vitriolic, antisemitic outbursts.
The posts got thousands of “likes.”
It was not immediately clear whether Ye deactivated the account himself or X took it down.
This is what Kanye West, one of the most famous rappers and hip hop producers of the early 21st century, will be known for for the rest of his history.
Incitement to violence. Incitement to slavery. Nazism. Hitler.
Shame on Kanye and everyone involved in this. pic.twitter.com/jxLb0D3JXG
— John Aziz (@aziz0nomics) February 9, 2025
“I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board,” he wrote in his final post, referring to the owner of X, Elon Musk.
It was a familiar pattern for West, who is now in the headlines as often for his provocative, often hate-filled rants as he is for his music.
For years, Ye has spoken openly about struggles with bipolar disorder, though he has also periodically rejected the diagnosis and declared it part of a conspiracy by Jewish doctors. He recently said on “The Download” podcast that he was misdiagnosed with bipolar and in fact has autism.
The rapper has been locked out of social media platforms in the past, notably when he was banned from X for nearly eight months after violating rules barring incitement to violence.
Ye’s most recent missives included comments in support of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is imprisoned on sex trafficking charges. He repeatedly referred to himself as a “Nazi.”
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
