After a year of antisemitic rants, West apologized to his Jewish fans, but it took a buddy-cop movie and a change in his heart for Kanye to come around. Seth Rogan has felt a bit proud of Ye’s turnaround, and the actor/director took partial ownership for who Kanye West’s new found tolerance. In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Watching Jonah Hill in [21 Jump Street] made me like Jewish people again.”
Kanye’s history on social media
The rapper was banned from Twitter and Instagram in late 2022 after making numerous antisemitic comments that led to brand partnerships with Adidas and Balenciaga being cut off. It also came after his interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Infowars in which he praised Hitler and attacked Jews.
As the Anti-Defamation League explains, “West’s antisemitism has spread across the internet and has resulted in a slew of hate crimes against Jews, including assaults, harassment, and death threats.” In a report from February, the ADL found that West’s antisemitic tweets and comments “have prompted at least 30 incidents of violence against Jews.”
In an effort to repair his image, West announced his intention to donate all proceeds from his Yeezy clothing line to the Jewish community. However, many have questioned the motivation behind this decision. The artist has a long history of antisemitism, and his comments on Hitler in the “Infowars” interview and denial of the Holocaust are just the latest examples.
But while the ADL argues that the rapper has a moral obligation to apologize, he might have been thinking of himself instead. After all, he is a self-described “artist.”
Seth Rogen Takes Slight Ownership for Kanye West’s Antisemitism
In a new interview with Cinema Blend, Seth Rogen revealed that he felt “slight ownership” for Kanye West‘s change of heart. During the interview, he was asked about Ye’s recent IG update on Jonah Hill’s role in 21 Jump Street.
While Rogen burst into laughter, he explained that he had no idea about the comedian’s intention. Rather, he was simply presenting a jokingly presented question to him.
The actor, who is Jewish, then shared his reaction to the rapper’s IG post. He shared: “It’s a nice feeling when you are actually cured, and I guess Kanye is curing himself.”
Rogen also noted that the rapper had changed his tune on this front after seeing Hill in the movie. He added: “He has a change of heart now, and that’s good for the world.”
In light of the rapper’s newfound love for the Jewish community, Rogen called for “a real conversation” about antisemitism on the Internet. He notes: “It’s important for all of us to talk about how we feel about the state of our country and the Jewish community, because it is a very divisive issue.”
As Rogen points out, this isn’t the first time he has taken to social media to call for Jews to be cured of their antisemitism. Back in 2017, he parodied Kanye’s music video for Bound 2 with James Franco, and the pair of actors even showed up at his wedding to Kim Kardashian.
While it’s great to see Kanye’s relationship with Jewish people change, the reality is that he has done far more harm than good. And that isn’t likely to change unless the artist does something about it.
