Ice-T has explained why he won’t speak out over Kanye West‘s recent actions.
In recent weeks, West has faced a wave of backlash after posting a series of antisemitic remarks online, including one where he said he didn’t believe in the term antisemitism, claiming that it’s “not factual”. He was subsequently suspended from Twitter and Instagram, but has since returned to the platforms, posting to Twitter on the weekend: “Testing Testing Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked”.
Last month it was also revealed that Balenciaga would no longer be working with the rapper following his antisemitic comments, with news emerging shortly after that Adidas had also ended its partnership with West. Gap then announced it was taking “immediate steps” to remove all Yeezy products from their stores, which followed the formal termination of their partnership in September.
West has since said he plans to sell Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap hoodies for $20 (£16.85) after each of the companies cut ties with him.
When asked by AllHipHop in a new interview to give his opinion on the backlash against West, Ice-T said: “I don’t really have any opinion, and I don’t want to be somebody trying to slander somebody. That’s not fly. Right now, people want just come out and say shit. I mean, whatever my view, I like to keep that in private. It’s not gangster to come out and talk about somebody like that.”
He also went to say that West may be an example of having the power of free speech but needing to “watch what you say.”
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Ice-T added: “So, when you say something, you have to be prepared for the ramifications of what you say, and apparently he is.”
Meanwhile, Julia Fox recently said she was “delusional” for thinking that she could help West during their brief relationship.