Rapper Kanye West, who has made several controversial statements in recent weeks, is buying the social media platform Parler.
The musician and fashion designer’s “bold stance” is in protest against censorship from Big Tech, with an aim to create “a truly non-cancelable environment,” according to an announcement released by Parler’s parent company, Parlement Technologies.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” said West, who now goes by Ye, per the release.
Parler launched in 2018 but was made briefly inaccessible by various tech companies, due to its role in the Jan. 6 riots, according to The New York Times.
This acquisition comes a week after West was banned from Twitter over antisemitic comments, as Margaret Darby reported for the Deseret News.
Meanwhile, his Instagram account was also restricted after West posted antisemitic comments, as Darby reported.
In response to the new limitations, West tweeted a photo of himself with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with the caption: “Look at this Mark How you gone kick me off Instagram.”
Earlier in October, West made headlines when he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Paris Fashion Week show, as the Deseret News reported.
In an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the billionaire recalled a conversation with his dad about the controversial statement.
“I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt; I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.’ And I said, ‘Dad, why did you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious,’” West told Carlson, per Fox News.