David Schwimmer urges Elon Musk to ban Kanye West from X following antisemitic rant
Friends star David Schwimmer has demanded Elon Musk take action by banning US rapper Kanye West from X following his “spewing hate-filled, ignorant bile” on the Musk-owned social media platform.
On February 7th, 2025, West posted a barrage of offensive tweets on X, notably targeting the Jewish community and expressing misogynistic sentiment towards his wife, Australian architect and model Bianca Censori. The antisemitic posts included incensed comments such as “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi”.
Expectedly, the ‘Stronger’ rapper caused widespread shock and controversy. Many notable figures took to social media to call out West, including Schwimmer, who is Jewish, and Musk, whose platform provided a stage for West’s hate speech.
The American actor, director, comedian and producer is most known for his portrayal of Ross Geller in the US sitcom Friends. Within the show, Schwimmer’s Ross frequently celebrates with pride his Jewish heritage and culture.
Taking to Instagram on February 8th, 2025, the former Friends actor said: “This is so 2022. We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate-filled, ignorant bile… but we can stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk. Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence. His sick hate speech results in real-life violence against Jews.”
The star continued: “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate all marginalised communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient outrage to remove and ban him from all social media at this point.” Schwimmer concluded: “Silence is complicity.”
Musk himself is currently embroiled in controversy and allegations of antisemitism following his alleged delivery of a Nazi salute at American President Donald Trump’s inauguration rally, which left audiences rightfully concerned that these public displays of hate symbols and speech could signal a snowballing rise in fascism and bigotry.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.