Kim Kardashian condemns hate speech in midst of Kanye West controversy

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Days after a fellow celebrity called her out for remaining publicly silent in the face of antisemitic comments made by her former husband Kanye West, Kim Kardashian has released a statement condemning hate speech.

Kardashian posted her statement on the Instatstories portion of her Instagram account on Monday.

“Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” her statement read. “I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”

The posting came days after singer Boy George posted a video on his Instagram account questioning why Kardashian had not publicly addressed her ex’s behavior.

“I’m appalled that Kim Kardashian hasn’t come out and added her voice to this debate because this woman has children with Kanye, so she must understand as a mother what it feels like for little Jewish children to hear these f***ing comments, how demoralizing and terrifying it must be,” he said.

West, who legally changes his name to Ye, has been under fire in recent weeks for social media posts criticized as antisemitic and for wearing and producing “White Lives Matter” wear at his recent fashion show.

The Anti-Defamation League categorizes that phrase as a “hate slogan” used by White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.

There was also major backlash to a now-deleted tweet, in which West said he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine records pulled by CNN.

His tweet has since been removed, and Twitter locked his account. In an interview conducted after the controversial tweet, West told Piers Morgan that he was sorry for the people that he hurt, though he also said that he didn’t regret making the remark.

A spokesperson for the talent agency CAA confirmed to CNN on Monday that West is no longer a client.

CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and David Williams contributed to this story.

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