Why Kanye West’s rehabilitation says a lot about America

About 140,000 people over two nights SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last weekA kind of collective willful amnesia has occurred. Just as a man on stage has never declared “Descend 3 on the Jews”, never said “I love Hitler”, “I am a Nazi”, “Jews are better as slaves”, “Slavery is a choice” and never worn or sold a T-shirt with a swastika emblazoned on it. Joining them on stage were Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, Ceelo Green, and Don Toliver. Kanye West, now known as Ye, took the stage. Chloe Bailey uploaded a video showing her happily singing.

At least for those whose support for him was wavering. Full page ad in the Wall Street Journal In January, West apologized for the above and other comments and released an ad blaming mental illness and a recently diagnosed head injury. His new album ‘Bully’, which is known for working harder on rehabilitation and having a solid record label as a partner, Debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart This week.

How did he bounce back so quickly after years of divisive behavior and three years of hate speech? Yes. He made great music early in his career. In fact, he is the most important and influential popular musician of our century. But without overstating the case, this is all part of a bigger story. donald trumpThis is America, where if you have enough money, fame, and noise, you can get away with almost anything.

The parallels between Trump and the West are vast and go far beyond their brief content, much to the dismay of many former fans. Bromance 2016-18. Both grow interested to the point where attention seems as important as oxygen. They both make outrageous and often untrue statements. Both have superhuman levels of self-respect (i.e. ego). Both have a charisma that makes people continue to believe in them despite how many terrible things they’ve said or done.

Just as everyone who voted for Trump in 2024 knew he was trying to overthrow the U.S. government, it’s not like anyone who bought a ticket to that concert didn’t know that West had said that.

Ironically, the reality can be confirmed by comparing it to the country that fought a war for liberation. In Britain, Prince Andrew was arrested following accusations arising from evidence in the Epstein files. The president and the Republican-led Congress have fought to dismiss and suppress the release of many of those files, perhaps because of his presence. Likewise, several sponsors have pulled out of the UK. West Headlining Wireless Festival; Promoters of the SoFi show faced no such problems.

The music world has a long history of forgiveness. Chris Brown is still selling out stadiums despite being arrested multiple times for violent conduct since assaulting Rihanna in 2009. Eric Clapton was one of the world’s most popular rock musicians for more than 50 years, even though he was drunk and made racist comments on stage in the ’70s. Motley Crue’s Vince Neil was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter in a 1984 drunk driving crash that killed his friend Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley, and although he pleaded guilty to another drunk driving charge 25 years later, the band sold its catalog for $150 million in 2021. These incidents seem to have been minor setbacks in their careers.

R. Kelly and (now) Diddy, on the other hand, are basically canceled and jailed due to multiple sexual assault charges. But after Kelly’s case was first dismissed in 2008, almost everyone seemed to have forgotten the damning allegations against her. It took him years to continue touring and selling millions of image-resetting records (remember “Trapped in the Closet”?). He’s been free for a decade, but it took a docuseries to make another impressive reflection on America. “Surviving R. Kelly” — sparked public sentiment and new allegations against him that ultimately landed him in prison. As Diddy’s release date, currently scheduled for April 15, 2028, approaches, a full-fledged image rehabilitation is expected to take place.

West may not have assaulted or kidnapped anyone, but for three years he attempted to incite and justify hatred against millions of people based entirely on religion. And therein lies the crux of the problem. Like Trump’s many transgressions, lies, and smears, at some point it’s too big for people to wrap their heads around.

If a president cannot be removed from office, almost anything can be excused. The Trump decade has so desensitized us, made us accept “alternative facts” and false realities, that people can actually overlook West’s hate speech.

Clearly, this rehabilitation did not happen automatically. After spending several years without a record deal, he recently partnered with Gamma, a company founded by former Apple and Interscope executive Larry Jackson. His SoFi concerts were promoted by Wave, a company affiliated with Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company. Live Nation is also the promoter of the UK Wireless Festival. Songs from his new album have been prominently playlisted by Spotify. Spotify rarely bans music, but it shows its displeasure by refusing to include songs in playlists, so it seems all is well. Several publications, including this one, covered the show in a non-negative way.

In America, where we grew up, no one can stop us from listening to the music we want or experiencing the art we want. Whether it’s a song by R. Kelly, a poem by fascist follower Ezra Pound, or JK Rowling’s transgender-bashing “Harry Potter” books, it’s all a personal choice. But Kanye West’s shocking return set a shocking precedent.