Photo Credit: REVOLT
Kanye West's Appearance on 'Drink Champs' Was the Disaster of the Year
On Drink Champs, Ye discussed "Jewish Zionists" and George Floyd death theories, prompting Floyd's family to consider filing a lawsuit.
Kanye West is digging a deeper hole for himself. The Donda 2 artist made a surprise Drink Champs appearance on Saturday night (October 15) for a part three interview with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN. The YEEZY founder didn't shy away from controversy, doubling down on antisemitic Tropes, repeating conservative talking points, and alleging that George Floyd's death in 2020 was caused by fentanyl and not being suffocated by a police officer's knee. With that last point, Kanye West came to the deplorable realization after watching the new Candace Owens documentary The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out. One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes,” the rapper-producer said. “They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
\u201cKanye West says George Floyd passed away because of fentanyl and that the cop\u2019s knee \u201cwasn\u2019t even on his neck like that\u201d\u201d— Kurrco (@Kurrco) 1665898369
Ye, who was wearing a 2024 hat, also drew similarities between Floyd and late streetwear designer Virgil Abloh. “This white company Louis Vuitton is now making statues of him as a martyr, and we don’t know why exactly [he died], they said it was cancer,” he said.
On Drink Champs, Ye claimed that Jewish people are controlling media and entertainment, also blaming "Jewish Zionists" for reporting on his issues with soon-to-be ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her former boyfriend Pete Davidson.
“Jewish people have owned the Black voice,” Ye said. “Either it’s through us wearing the Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney. I respect what the Jewish people have done, and how they brought their people together.”
Later in the interview, Ye made the argument that he’s not anti-Semitic, saying he’s a Jew as the “blood of Christ.”
Kanye went on a pretty long rant, claiming that Jewish people control the media. He also blamed “Jewish Zionists” for the press he's seen about him recently. (Kanye claims that four concerts he had scheduled at Los Angeles’ So-Fi Stadium got canceled.)
The views went mostly unchallenged by N.O.R.E. and EFN. After hearing Ye's take on George Floyd's death, the family's lawyer Lee Merritt says they're now considering suit for the artist's false statements.
\u201cWhile one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye\u2019s false statements about the manner of his death.\n\nClaiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family\u2019s fight.\u201d— Lee Merritt (@Lee Merritt) 1665950823
After the interview aired, the wrath came down on N.O.R.E. and Revolt for giving Kanye a platform. Since the pushback, N.O.R.E. has apologized.
\u201cI\u2019m sorry my fault!!!\u201d— N.O.R.E (@N.O.R.E) 1665981044
It also seems like the podcast was removed from iTunes and Spotify. (Although the video is still on YouTube.)
