Kanye “Ye” West continues to make headlines with his antisemitic rhetoric. While many media figures slammed Ye for his controversial comments, Akon shared a different reaction to the situation.
In October, Kanye West sparked a media firestorm after tweeting that he planned to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” The 45-year-old rapper also publicly expressed his appreciation for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Hitler oversaw the Holocaust genocide which led to the systematic murder of an estimated six million Jews in Europe. The Nazis also persecuted Black Germans and other non-Caucasian groups as well as disabled people and homosexuals.
Apparently, Akon still supports Kanye West despite his offensive opinions about the Jewish community and Nazi Germany. The Senegalese-American singer recently made an appearance on Sky News, discussing Ye’s move toward antisemitism.
“I’m a backer of the right to believe what you want to believe,” said Akon. “Now, the day me and him have a conversation, I will give him my point of view on why I disagree and he may come back and say, ‘You know what? You’re right.’ Or he may say, ‘I’m not.’”
The “Locked Up” performer added, “Those comments [by Ye] don’t really affect me personally, and I think if everyone takes it that way, then it’s different. And if it does affect you personally, then find a way to actually respond in a way that that conversation can be reciprocated.”
Akon received some online backlash following his interview with Sky News. Instead of walking back his takes on Kanye West, the Konvict Muzik label founder doubled down on his views.
“I clearly do not agree with Kanye’s [remarks] about Hitler. I am simply saying that everyone should have the right to their own opinion. Doesn’t mean we will always agree,” tweeted Akon over the weekend. That Twitter post garnered more than 13,000 likes.
