A picture is worth a thousand words… or more powerful than a 40-minute apology video, we guess?
Kanye West released an apology for his antisemitic comments last month, and was on the cusp of dropping another one, a rambling video said to be nonsensical but lengthy. But what good are those words when he’s wearing a picture of what he really supports?
The Power rapper was spotted in a pic on the social media of fellow rapper JPEGMafia on Friday morning, and in it he’s wearing an extremely controversial t-shirt. It’s the shirt of a Norwegian black metal band from the ’90s called Burzum — a band actually made up of just one man, Varg Vilkernes (above, inset — from prison), whose face is shown prominently on the tee.
vultures ???? pic.twitter.com/KHruRPalmF
— JPEGMAFIA (@jpegmafia) January 19, 2024
If any of these names are sounding familiar it’s less likely you’ve heard his music on Spotify — and more likely you’ve heard about him on a true crime podcast.
Related: Kanye & Bianca Censori Spending ‘Time Apart’ — He’s Moved Into A Hotel!
Vilkernes is a convicted arsonist and murderer who spent 15 years in prison for burning down churches and stabbing to death a bandmate and rival named Euronymous from the band Mayhem. They made a movie about it a couple years back called Lords of Chaos. It starred a Culkin.
The other thing that’s crucial to know about Varg? He was an out-and-proud, unabashed Nazi.
Yes, during his time in prison he actually launched a whole neo-Nazi movement in Scandinavia called the Norwegian Heathen Front. He was one of the few people to receive a copy of the manifesto by that far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011. He was arrested a couple years later on suspicion of planning acts of terrorism, but it couldn’t be proven. After that he dropped some of the more overtly antisemitic, explicitly Nazi rhetoric. But he still preaches the same crap: racism and white supremacy, enough that YouTube deplatformed him in 2019.
We say all this so you know this isn’t hyperbole — this man is a modern neo-Nazi thought leader. And those in the know spoke out, with fans on social media writing:
“Bro wearing a band t-shirt from a known Neo-n*zi.”
“Burzum’s music and views are trash so that makes sense for YE.”
“Huge fan of you bro but this is disappointing.”
Has that last person not been paying attention to anything else Ye has been saying for the past couple years??
Liora Rez, the exec director of StopAntisemitism, said in a statement to DailyMail.com:
“StopAntisemitism strongly condemns Kanye’s decision to wear a t-shirt depicting Kristian ‘Varg’ Vikernes, a neo-Nazi killer with a notorious history of violence and hate. This is yet another disgusting example of the disgraced rapper publicly associating with white supremacists — promoting the legacy of an individual who has caused immense harm and poses a threat to marginalized communities everywhere. There will never be a redemption arc for Kanye West, period. What will he try next? Another apology in Hebrew?”
Fair.
Obviously this isn’t the most egregiously antisemitic thing Kanye has done, but it’s a pretty big red flag — or black flag in this case — that he’s in no way remorseful for his views.
To learn more about antisemitism and how you can help fight it, check out https://www.adl.org/.
[Image via FoxNews/Variance Films/YouTube.]
