During Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Kanye West made waves again—not for music, but for controversy. In a commercial aired exclusively in Los Angeles, the rapper sat awkwardly in a dentist’s chair, wearing a blue hoodie and dark sunglasses, as he mumbled about spending money on a new set of grills. “I had to shoot this on the iPhone,” he said, before directing viewers to visit yeezy.com. What viewers found on the website, however, quickly shifted the focus of attention.
Those who visited the site reported being met with a shocking item for sale: a t-shirt displaying a swastika. The limited reach of the ad didn’t stop it from triggering widespread discomfort, especially when viewed against the backdrop of West’s recent behavior. The rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, had already set off a firestorm with a string of antisemitic comments on social media, including his now-infamous statement, “I’m a Nazi,” and praise for Adolf Hitler, whom he described as “so fresh.”
The Super Bowl ad adds to a growing list of controversies tied to West, but its setting—a dentist’s chair—may have had deeper significance. Milo Yiannopoulos, a former associate and ex-chief-of-staff, recently alleged that celebrity dentist Dr. Thomas P. Connelly had manipulated West by providing him with nitrous oxide to fuel an addiction and, in turn, extort millions of dollars from him. Yiannopoulos shared text messages between himself, West, and Connelly where the rapper allegedly demanded more nitrous oxide.
West’s ad strategy this year echoed his unconventional move in 2024, when he purchased local Super Bowl ads instead of going for nationwide slots. But even then, critics noted that his advertising lacked coherence and seemed more about personal antics than product promotion. The decision to air the ad only in Los Angeles this year may have limited its direct exposure, but social media discussions ensured it reached far beyond its intended audience.
By Monday morning, West’s account on X (formerly Twitter) had been deactivated following the backlash. It remains unclear whether the deactivation was voluntary or enforced by the platform, whose policies prohibit hate speech and attacks on individuals based on race, religion, or other protected categories. West’s recent tirades also included derogatory comments toward plus-size women and claims of personal connections with political figures, further cementing his status as a polarizing and controversial public figure.
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