Ice Cube, 50 Cent Speak Out Against Kanye's Antisemitic Remarks

Rappers 50 Cent and Ice Cube have spoken out against antisemitic remarks Kanye West made on social media last week.

The 45-year-old rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, was locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts for several antisemitic comments, including on tweet in which he stated he was "going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," most likely in reference to DEFCON, which refers to one of five levels of U.S. defense readiness in the face of a national security threat.

On Tuesday while appearing on Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning, rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, commented on the remarks.

"I think he's in a dangerous area," said 50 Cent. "I forgive him for the things that he said, because I've already identified when something's going on that I don't understand."

50 Cent added that in terms of Ye's actions over the last few years, there was "nothing for me to say about it though."

"Even the Trump support thing was a little out there for me," he said. "One week it's 'I don't want my kids raised by a white woman,' and the next week it's 'I wanna go home.'"

He added that Ye's "unpredictability is entertaining."

As for Ice Cube, whose real name is O'Shea Jackson, the 53-year-old rapper tweeted a response to some of Ye's offending remarks on Tuesday, referencing also a recent interview Ye had on the Drink Champs podcast.

"I hate that my name was dragged into this Drunk [sic] Champs bulls**t," Ice Cube wrote on Twitter. "I don't know what Ye meant by his statements, you're gonna have to ask him. I didn't put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. I'm not antisemitic and never have been."

In the interview, in which he made several controversial comments, including ones about George Floyd, Ye referenced Ice Cube a few times, and claimed that Cube had "really influenced" him to "get on this antisemite vibe," according to the New Musical Express.

The full interview has since been removed from the Drink Champs' YouTube channel.

While Ice Cube says he has never been antisemitic, the rapper has gotten in trouble in the past for posting things that fans criticized as having antisemitic messaging.

In 2020, he posted several memes to Twitter that showed images of potential antisemitic conspiracy theories, and he has also been called out by critics for using the phrases "White Jew" and "cracker" to refer to Jewish music producer Jerry Heller in his song titled "No Vaseline," which came out in 1991.

Also in 2020, he posted tweets in support of Louis Farrakhan, a singer, conspiracist, and leader of the Nation of Islam who has referred to Jews as "wicked deceivers of the American people" and compared them to "termites," NextShark reported this past July.

Newsweek reached out to a representative for Ye, Ice Cube, and 50 Cent for additional comment.