Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel has responded to Kanye West’s recent antisemitic rhetoric in an op-ed written for the Chicago Tribune. In the piece, Emanuel wrote that West is part of an overall rise in hate coming in various forms throughout the country.
“Of course, praising Hitler is vile. And it’s easy to condemn – and get distracted,” Emanuel wrote in the article. “And what the cartoonish Kanye clown show distracts us from is what’s going on under the big top — how the virus of antisemitism and hate and division is spreading and attacking the foundations of our culture.”
Emanuel followed with a larger discussion about how antisemitic conspiracies from far-right players about Jewish control of politics, finance and the entertainment industry have become increasingly popularized in recent years. “It’s up to all of us to stop regarding silence as an acceptable option — not just for cartoonish praising of Hitler, but for more insidious, wink-wink, dog-whistle forms of hate directed at any group,” he wrote.
According to Emanuel, West’s recent dialogue, which has included outright praise of Adolf Hitler and Nazis, serves to move the line, little by little, of what’s acceptable to say. He also took note of a tweet that the Republican House Judiciary Committee posted in October, which said: “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” While West’s string of antisemitic comments began unfolding throughout the following months, the tweet was only taken down following his “Infowars” interview that included praise for Hitler.
“As outrageous as West is, the insidious part is that a generation of kids is being exposed to old, even ancient, tropes of antisemitism through very modern forms of technology and pop culture,” Emanuel wrote. “Yes, it’s great that West’s platform to praise Hitler might shrink, but more corrosive is that the conspiracy theory of a cabal of Jews controlling politics, finance, medicine and entertainment is taking root.”
Emanuel concluded the op-ed by urging that while West’s comments attract viral attention and condemnation, people must also be aware of the “subtle and insidious forms of conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact.”