Photo Credit: Kanye West by Rodrigo Ferrari / CC by 2.0
Ye, the disgraced rapper formerly known as Kanye West, attempted to strike references to his past antisemitic statements and behavior as well as German artist Alice Merton’s family connections to the Holocaust from the copyright lawsuit she filed against him last year. But on Thursday, a federal judge rejected those efforts, ruling that the references are relevant and explain why Merton denied the clearance request in the first place.
Merton sued Ye in March last year for allegedly using an uncleared sample of her song “Blindside” in his track “Gun to My Head.” She had explicitly denied clearance because she is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, and Ye has a very well-documented history of antisemitism.
“The court finds that the allegations concerning Merton’s background or Ye’s alleged remarks are not unduly prejudicial and may have some bearing on the litigation, including potentially at trial to explain Plaintiffs’ rationale for denying Defendants’ use of Plaintiffs’ song,” wrote Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha.
Ye’s attempt to erase his years of hateful statements and actions by issuing a lengthy full-page apology in The Wall Street Journal hasn’t had the effect he intended. He blamed his behavior on his bipolar disorder and the brain damage he allegedly suffered from a 2002 car crash. Nevertheless, he has been denied entry into several countries and venues while promoting his album BULLY.
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” Ye wrote. “It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
However, he has still played to massive crowds in a run of stadium shows this year, including Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, San Antonio’s Alamodome, and Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. He also played shows in Istanbul, Türkiye; Arnhem, Netherlands; Tbilisi, Georgia; Madrid, Spain; and Algarve, Portugal.
