Kanye West Gives Shout Out To Kyrie Irving & Stephen A. Smith

Kanye West praised Kyrie Irving and Stephen A. Smith for being "real ones" on Instagram.

BYCole Blake
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Kanye West labeled Kyrie Irving and Stephen A. Smith "real ones" on Instagram, Sunday night. The post comes after the Brooklyn Nets star faced criticism for promoting a film on Twitter that reportedly featured antisemitic content.

As for Stephen A. Smith, West shared a black and white photo of the commentator with the caption: "It’s actually some real ones still alive that ain’t afraid no more I’m with you Time to build our own So the #redmedia can never control or diminish us again."

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 28: Kanye West at Milk Studios on June 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. adidas and Kanye West announce the future of their partnership: adidas + KANYE WEST (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for ADIDAS)

"There’s some real ones still here," West captioned a similar style photo of Irving.

While both West and Irving have been criticized for spreading antisemitism in recent weeks, it's unclear exactly why Ye spoke out in support of Stephen A. Smith. Smith had recently called out West during an episode of his Know Mercy podcast.

"West continued his rhetoric that Jewish people are the reason for his bad business deals and for the backlash he has received," Smith said on the show. "I thought the brother was worth billions. What you mean? What bad deals? How many bad deals did you have if you’re worth $7 billion? How many bad deals did you have if you’re worth, if you’re calling yourself the richest black man in American history? How many bad deals did you have? What do you mean? Which way is it, Kanye? If Jewish folks are at fault for the bad business deals that cost you money, how are you saying that while bragging about being the richest black man in American history? Which one is it? Either they helped you or hurt you. They helped you or they hurt you. Pick one. They did both? That’s what they did? Really, really?"

Ye's recent remarks, which include threatening to go "death con 3" on Jewish people, have landed him in hot water with countless brands. The controversies have caused him to lose out on partnerships with GAP, Adidas, and more.

Check out Ye's recent posts on Instagram below.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.