Another antisemitic comment – perhaps his worst yet – has spewed from the mouth of Kanye West aka Ye today. This time, involving Adolf Hitler. Actor John DiMaggio, the newest cast member of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, wasted no expletives in sharing his opinion on the matter.
“F*** Kanye, all day, everyday. What a piece of garbage,” DiMaggio said, leaving zero room to wonder what he thinks about the former billionaire and rapper.
DiMaggio’s comments come following Ye’s latest and most concerning antisemitic rhetoric in conversation with Alex Jones of InfoWars, an American far-right conspiracy outlet. Ye not only claimed to like Adolf Hitler, the genocidal German dictator behind the Holocaust, but also that he actually thinks Hitler “brought something of value to the table.”
Sporting an all-black face mask that concealed his features, Ye was tossed a clear lifeline by Jones who tried to steer the 45-year-old rapper away from further antisemitic rhetoric. “You’re not a Nazi. You don’t deserve to be called that and demonized,” said Jones. But instead of taking this lifeline for what it was, Ye firmly planted both feet in his mouth and spouted more harmful and troubling comments.
“Well, I see good things about Hitler. This guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table. Especially Hitler.”
It goes without saying that Ye was wrong in giving credit to Hitler for the invention of highways and microphones. This kind of misinformation directly contradicts the free speech and fake news Ye continuously calls out, and should be an immediate red flag to those who take anything he says with a grain of salt. Rubbing said salt in the wound even further, Ye had nothing but kind things to say about Nazis in his conversation with Jones, going so far as to say, “They did good things too. We’ve got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time.”
So, it’s really no wonder why DiMaggio took a jab at Ye on Twitter. Watching Ye’s career crumble right before our very eyes might be entertaining to those who dislike the man, but the idea that his fan base (yes, they still exist) is sticking by him throughout comments such as these is unsettling and concerning, not to mention frightening.
Thankfully, DiMaggio can channel his ire at Ye into a more positive outlet, lending his prolific voice acting to the role of Stratosphere in the upcoming movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Stratosphere is an immensely powerful Autobot who can not only smash his way through almost anything but also house an entire Autobot strike team in his cargo for further destruction. Joining him in the movie are actors Peter Dinklage and Liza Koshy, according to Deadline.
DiMaggio will make his Transformers: Rise of the Beasts debut when the movie premieres on June 9, 2023. Until then, we can only hope he has no reason to criticize Ye any further.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents reached an “all-time high” in 2021, and 2022 is on a similar track. This includes assault, harassment, and vandalism. For more information on the dangers of antisemitic rhetoric and what you can do to stop it, see the American Jewish Committee’s Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America.