Kanye West’s ex-employees allege he praised Hitler, Nazis in meetings

A bombshell new report claims Kanye West has allegedly spouted Nazi beliefs in business meetings over the past five years.

A bombshell new report claims Kanye West has allegedly used anti-Semitic rhetoric in the workplace for years and paid off a worker to silence them about the alleged racist behaviour.

The Yeezy CEO, 45, entered a settlement agreement with a former employee who allegedly witnessed multiple instances in which the former billionaire praised Adolf Hitler or Nazis in business meetings, according to NBC News.

West has denied the claims made in the settlement, per the news outlet.

However, NBC News also spoke anonymously with six additional people who claim to have heard West either “mention conspiracy theories about Jewish people or praise Hitler” in a professional setting over the past five years.

Ryder Ripps, a conceptual artist who worked with the controversial designer off and on from 2014 to 2018, was the only one to speak on the record, and claimed he previously pushed back on West’s remarks because he is Jewish himself – but never thought the comments were “dangerous”.

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Kanye’s habit of talking about Hitler and Nazis in business meetings has allegedly been going for at least five years. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

“He had told me a bunch of sh*t about like, how, ‘Nazis are good at propaganda,’” the creative designer alleged, adding that the Stronger rapper allegedly once said in 2018, “You’re not offended that like I’m interested in Nazis or something.”

Although it seems Ripps did not take West seriously before, it appears that has now changed after the Praise God rapper’s anti-Semitic comments have ramped up on social media and in interviews over the past few weeks – including writing that he was going to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.

“This is dangerous, and disgusting, and actually violent,” the artist told NBC News.

“With this pattern that’s happening and with the doubling and tripling down of all this, it’s pretty obvious that this is some kind of disgusting, hate-filled, strange Nazi obsession.”

Ripps said West has “crossed it with his current actions,” noting that he himself has seen an “uptick of people like personally attacking me” because of his faith.

Ripps and the other sources are not the first to come forward with claims about West having a history of obsession with Hitler and the Nazis.

Kanye West’s billion-dollar career is in tatters. Picture: Taylor Hill/WireImage

Last week, CNN published a report that claimed several people alleged West wanted to name his 2018 album Hitler after the disgraced world leader but changed his mind for an unknown reason.

A business executive also claimed to the news organisation that the father-of-four spoke openly about reading Mein Kampf, the 1925 autobiographical manifesto written by the Nazi Party leader.

“He would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people,” the former colleague alleged.

In early October, former TMZ reporter Van Lathan claimed West said he “loved Hitler and the Nazis” during a rant at the news organisation’s offices.

The journalist alleged on his Higher Learning podcast, “I knew that that was in him because when he came to TMZ, he said that stuff and they took it out of the interview.”

Three sources that spoke to NBC News reiterated Lathan’s claims about West using anti-Semitic language while at TMZ.

Reps for West could not immediately be reached.

Celebrities including John Legend, Jamie Lee Curtis and Howard Stern have slammed the rapper’s hateful rhetoric publicly, with the shock jock even comparing West to Hitler.

Meanwhile, West recently lost his billionaire status after companies including Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga and Vogue cut ties with him following his rants, which got him temporarily banned from both Instagram and Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Page Six and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Kanye West’s ex-employees allege he praised Hitler, Nazis in meetings