Confusion reigns over Kanye West’s Twitter suspension after Elon Musk takeover

By: Thomas B.

Confusion reigned Friday over the status of Kanye West’s Twitter account after his friend billionaire Elon Musk completed his takeover of the company.

West’s Twitter account was publicly viewable as of Friday, sparking several reports that Musk had restored his account. But the rapper still hasn’t tweeted since his latest ban earlier this month.

On Friday afternoon, Musk tweeted that “Ye’s account was restored by Twitter before the acquisition. They did not consult with or inform me.”

Earlier on Friday, Musk tweeted that “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” adding that “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”

Bloomberg reporter Kurt Wagner noted the situation had caused “a lot of confusion,” reporting that West never lost control of his account despite a temporary freeze, citing unnamed sources.

“@Kanyewest was not un-banned or reinstated today. He was never banned. His account was temporarily frozen,” Wagner tweeted. “That freeze was quickly lifted weeks ago, according to two sources. He’s been able to tweet for weeks.”

Wagner’s report contradicted a separate post from his own outlet, which earlier said that West’s account “appeared to be no longer suspended.”

West’s account is being closely watched as a bellwether for how Musk plans to handle suspensions as Twitter’s new owner. West, who legally changed his name to “Ye” last year, was locked out of the platform earlier this month after the rapper posted a series of anti-Semitic remarks.

The rapper has more than 31 million Twitter followers.

Musk publicly commented when West returned to the platform on Oct. 8 after a two-year hiatus, tweeting, “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!.” But West’s profile was quickly suspended after he tweeted that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules,” a message on West’s page still reads.

The most recent tweets on West’s account are from Oct. 9, when he questioned the origins of cancel culture and called on the public to support “Iranian youth” who were “leading a revolution against 44 years of dictatorship.”

Musk has made it clear on several occasions that he opposes account suspensions on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Musk plans to end the practice of permanent bans on Twitter accounts, Bloomberg reported. He has also indicated he would reverse the permanent suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account, but had yet to do so as of early Friday afternoon.

Several major brands, including Adidas and fashion house Balenciaga, have cut ties with West in response to his recent anti-Semitic remarks. The loss of the Adidas deal cost West an estimated $1.5 billion and knocked him from the ranks of the world’s billionaires, according to Forbes.

In the midst of the backlash over his remarks, West announced earlier this month that he planned to buy the social media platform Parler.