SoFi Stadium is coming under fire from Sam Yebri, a politician and Jewish advocate, for hosting a Kanye West concert in April. Speaking with the California Post, Yebri described the event as offensive to the Jewish community in Los Angeles.
“Sofi hosting a Ye concert after his years of hate-filled vitriol and Nazi-inspired music spits in the face of every Jewish person in Los Angeles," he remarked. “Events need venues. Venues make choices. Sofi made a despicable choice. Would Sofi host a neo-Nazi rally or ISIS convention too?”
Yebri did admit that there is one condition in which he believes it'd be okay for West to continue with the performance. “Unless Ye is planning to use his concert to apologize, heal wounds, and disavow antisemitism, everyone who attends is supporting and normalizing anti-Jewish racism," he further said.
A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League agreed that an apology is long-overdue, but wouldn't "automatically undo his long history of antisemitism."
Kanye West’s Apology
Kanye West previously apologized to the Jewish community in a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, earlier this year. "I lost touch with reality," he admitted. "Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self."
"In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it," he further said. "One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments - many of which I still cannot recall - that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body-experience. I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people."
Kanye West announced his concert at SoFi Stadium, earlier this week. It will mark his first performance in Los Angeles in five years.
