Several Jewish organizations have rejected Kanye West’s apology after the rapper declared on social media that Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street had “made him like Jewish People again.” The apology has been termed insincere and comical.
Kanye West has faced a massive backlash over a string of antisemitic comments and actions, which included praising Hitler on Infowars, denying the number of deaths in the Holocaust, socializing with far-right extremists, andsporting a German Reich t-shirt. He was dropped by shoe giant Adidas in the wake of the controversy, a move that cost him millions.
“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street made me like Jewish people again,” Ye wrote in his first social media post in 2023 following his return to Instagram after getting banned. “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people.” The rapper went on to add, “No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew… Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”
Jonah Hill has not yet responded to the comments but the reaction of the 21 Jump Street Director Christopher Miller was tongue-in-cheek. “Umm..thanks for watching?” Miller commented on the post.
StopAntiSemitism— an organization that labeled Kanye the AntiSemite of the Year— is the first to respond to the Kanye apology and they do not seem to be too impressed about it.
“Joking about a movie with Jonah Hill is not the apology that the Jewish people deserve from Kanye, particularly when his antisemitic tirades continue to have a dangerous trickle-down effect of hatred against Jews,” said Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, per TMZ.
“If Kanye West wants to mend his relationship with the Jewish people, he first needs to denounce white supremacist Nick Fuentes and issue a sincere apology for his promotion of Hitler,” StopAntisemitism tweeted.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) also expressed their incredulity.
“It is a little odd that all it might take for Kanye to renounce his vile antisemitism is to watch and 11-year-old Jonah Hill movie. Whether Kanye is sincere, only he knows,” AJC rep Richard Hirschhaut said.
