Don Lemon is the latest high-profile figure to criticize Kanye “Yee” West, who is facing a renewed wave of backlash during his comeback despite his anti-Semitic statements in the past.
The former CNN host, who now runs his own eponymous talk show on social media, went after West in a clip he posted to his Facebook account on Monday.
“Kanye is a complete minstrel show,” Lemon said. “Kanye is a total bigot. Kanye is a total anti-Semite.”
In particular, Lemon took issue with West fans who “cancelled R. Kelly.”
Disgraced R&B star R. Kelly is currently serving several decades in prison after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking.
“If you’re on Kanye’s side, you’re on Trump’s side,” Lemon continued, linking the controversial rapper to the president.
While it is unclear to what extent West still supports Trump, he has been an outspoken supporter in the past, especially during Trump’s first term, even when he met with the president in the Oval Office, a session that Lemon objected to, referring to it as a “minstrel show” on CNN.
Lemon’s comments come after West played two high-profile concerts in Los Angeles last week, the first of which marked his most high-profile US performance in years amid controversy over his anti-Semitic views, including releasing a song called “Heil Hitler” less than a year ago, for which he apologized in Wall Street Journal Announcement in late January. The second show saw the rapper joined on stage by notable musicians like Lauryn Hill and Travis Scott.
West was also due to headline the UK’s Wireless Festival in July before he was banned from traveling to the country, following criticism of his anti-Semitic views, earlier on Tuesday. The festival, which saw several sponsors withdraw in recent days, was later cancelled.
Concertgoers last week who spoke to Hollywood Reporter Before West’s first concert in Los Angeles, he seemed willing to separate the art from the artist, saying they were there for the music despite knowing of his hateful rhetoric in the past.
