Ye account publicly visible on Twitter amid Musk takeover

The Twitter account for Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, was publicly visible on Friday following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media company.

Twitter had locked the rapper’s account earlier this month for violating the platform’s policies after his antisemitic tweet that he was “going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” the rapper tweeted. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” 

The tweet has since been deleted by Twitter, but the rapper was locked out of the platform as well as from Instagram for his comments.

It’s unclear if Ye’s access to the account has returned. The Hill has reached out to Twitter for more information.

Musk — who closed his $44 billion deal with Twitter on Thursday ahead of a court-ordered Friday deadline — has long hinted at plans to end permanent bans on the platform.

An anonymous source told Bloomberg that Musk doesn’t believe in lifetime prohibitions on the platforms.

According to The Associated Press, Twitter took action on more than 4 million accounts over a five-month span in late 2021, according to the most recently available data. During that same period, more than 1 million accounts were also suspended.

The incoming CEO said on Thursday that despite his commitment to free speech and the public exchange of ideas, “​​Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape.”

This story is developing and was updated at 11:24 a.m.