Not long after discussing Kanye West and Bianca Censori’s outrageous nude stunt on the Feb. 2 Grammys red carpet, The View returned to the topic of the controversial rapper on today’s show. While West has reportedly since split with Censori, the panel didn’t delve into his romantic life. Instead, they condemned his constant promotion of Nazi symbols and ideals, with Alyssa Farah Griffin proclaiming that she’s had enough.
During today’s Hot Topics chat about West’s Feb. 9 Super Bowl ad — which prompted viewers to visit a website where he was selling t-shirts adorned with swastikas — the co-host said “there should be” more outrage about West’s actions.
“I’m glad we’re talking about it on this show, because I feel like, for some reason Kanye’s been given a pass and I know there’s a perception the he may have some mental health issues, but there are tens of millions of people around this country who have mental health issues and are not saying bigoted, racist, antisemitic things. I think it’s a cop-out,” Griffin said.
While West was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he said earlier this month that he has been misdiagnosed, telling Justin Laboy on his podcast The Download, “I’ve come to find that it’s really a case of autism that I have,” per The Guardian.
On today’s show, Griffin said West “needs to be called out, especially on the heels of the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7.” She told the panel, “There’s a rise globally in antisemitism, and this man, get this, he has more social media followers than there are Jews in the world.
“He does have an influence, there are people who are looking at him, especially young people, and he should not be normalized and he needs to be called out for his hate,” Griffin said.
Sara Haines said she didn’t understand how West was even allowed to attend big public events like red carpets, while Sunny Hostin declared “there’s something really wrong going on here with Kanye West,” before noting the history of unity between Black and Jewish groups, especially during the civil rights era.
“Both communities have been so oppressed. They work together,” Hostin said, adding, “The fact that a Black man would be so openly vile and antisemitic, it’s just so jarring to me.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.