Hours after Kanye West appeared on InfoWars to declare, “I like Hitler,” the social media cesspit known as Parler announced that West’s buyout deal had been taken off the table by mutual agreement.
“In response to numerous media inquiries, Parlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler,” the company said in a statement, adding pointedly, “This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November.”
The statement concluded, “Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community.”
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West’s sit-down Thursday with conspiracy-monger Alex Jones was unhinged even by the standards of the 45-year-old rapper, who remains on an antisemitic tear weeks after first tweeting that he would go “Death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Appearing in a fully hooded mask and accompanied by avowed white nationalist Nick Fuentes, West alternated between Holocaust denial, attacking Jewish people, and insisting “we got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time” as even Jones struggled to keep up with his vitriol.
His ongoing tirade kicked off following backlash to an October show for his fashion line Yeezy, in which he promoted “White Lives Matter” shirts. As a flood of brands rushed to cut ties with him as his inflammatory and hateful remarks piled up, he was booted from Instagram and had his Twitter account (temporarily) banned. He announced the Parler deal shortly after.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” West said in a statement at the time.
Since its founding in 2018, Parler has positioned itself, with limited success, as an “uncancelable” haven for free speech. In doing so, it became a safe space for antisemites and right-wing influencers who reveled in its lax approach to content moderation. It was yanked from both Apple and Google’s app stores following the Capitol riot, and was only restored after the company agreed to police its users more closely.
One of those users was apparently West himself. Less than three weeks after the deal was announced, according to reporting by The Daily Beast, a West post on Parler was slapped with a warning label that obscured its contents to mobile viewers.
Though it’s unclear when exactly trouble began brewing in paradise, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN that West’s ongoing business difficulties were a factor in the decision to call the deal off.
