Kanye’s Jewish ex-business partner alleges more antisemitic remarks

‘You’re exactly like the other Jews,’ Alex Klein claims Kanye said.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Rapper/recording artist Kanye West during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

By Beth Harpaz, The Forward
Published June 28, 2023

“You’re exactly like the other Jews!”

That’s what Kanye West’s ex-business partner Alex Klein said the rapper told him after he parted ways with West.

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.

The remark and others like it were described in The Trouble with KanYe, airing Wednesday on BBC Two. Klein is identified as the creator of the Stem Player, an audio remix device and streaming platform for West’s Donda 2 album.

After Klein decided to stop working with West because of other antisemitic comments West had made, “Kanye was very angry,” Klein said. “You know he was saying, ‘I feel like I wanna smack you’ and ‘you’re exactly like the other Jews’ — almost relishing and reveling in how offensive he could be, using these phrases hoping to hurt me.”

Klein continued: “I asked him and I said ‘do you really think Jews are working together to hold you back?’ and he said, ‘yes, yes I do but it’s not even a statement that I need to take back because look at all the energy around me right now. Without that statement, I wouldn’t become president.’”

West, who is also known as Ye, said last fall that he would run for president in 2024. Whether he’ll follow through is unclear. The Federal Elections Commission has no filings under his name for a 2024 campaign and several media reports suggest the effort is in trouble.

West’s past antisemitic comments include tweeting that he wanted to go “death con 3” on “THE JEWISH PEOPLE”; saying that he believes Black people are the “real” Jews; blaming his problems on “Zionists”; and expressing support for Hitler. Earlier this year, however, West said he “likes Jewish people again” because of Jonah Hill’s performance in 21 Jump Street.

The BBC documentary is accompanied by an eight-part podcast The Kanye Story.

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Beth Harpaz is a reporter for the Forward. She previously worked for The Associated Press, first covering breaking news and politics, then as AP Travel editor. Follow her @literarydj or email [email protected].

This article was originally published on the Forward.