Kanye West has returned to Instagram almost three weeks after he was locked out of his account for anti-Semitic comments.
The beleaguered rapper and fashion designer, who has legally changed his name to Ye, was barred from posting on the platform on October 9. Multiple businesses have cut ties with him since his remarks.
West, 45, mentioned his change of fortunes in one of his first posts on Wednesday night, addressing a message to Ari Emanuel, the CEO of powerhouse talent agency Endeavor, who had criticized his “misguided hate” in a newspaper op-ed.
In the post, captioned “LOVE SPEECH,” Ye wrote: “I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I’m still alive. This is a love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. Money is not who I am. The people iswho I am.”
Ye’s month of controversy began at his October 3 Yeezy fashion show in Paris. He appeared wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “White Lives Matter,” a slogan commonly used by white supremacists as well as opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement.
After the backlash, West shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a text message exchange with Sean “Diddy” Combs, in which he responded to the rap mogul’s objection to his stunt by saying he would “show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
