I’m not defending Kanye, but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed in how easily black people fall in line with the dominant society when it targets a black celebrity and designates him persona non grata.
Tucker Carlson, on whose show Kanye appeared, hasn’t lost advertisers in spite of him routinely trafficking in rhetoric that is , at times, explicitly racist , and often adjacent to views that are home to the ideology of Neo Nazis.
Mel Gibson, who has a well documented history (one instance occurring after he was pulled over by a police officer for speeding) of making antisemitic comments, along with the infamous rant in which he told his wife how delighted he’d be to see her raped by a pack of ******s, is still getting work in Hollywood.
And, these are only two among many examples of white celebrities who’ve made racist and/or antisemitic statements, yet haven’t received the blowback Kanye is experiencing.