Aurora Starchild
Kanye West just popped out of the woodwork to make an odd announcement and Seth Rogen had the perfect response. Ye put up the 21 Jump Street movie poster on his Instagram and said the film made him “like Jewish people again.” The movie was released in 2012, so the infamously antisemitic rapper’s change in sentiment seems a little random.
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Kanye West Likes Jewish People Again, Thanks to 11-Year-Old Movie
“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again,” wrote Kanye West. “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people. No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”
Kanye West, who struggles with a mental health disorder, committed social media suicide last October after doubling and tripling down on a series of bigoted comments. It started with simply wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt with Candace Owens at the Yeezy Paris Fashion Week Show. When businesses and celebrities responded by calling West out for supporting white supremacy, he switched trajectories and started ranting about Jews.
The red herring that Kanye West threw to the public only further hurt his image. He was dropped by Adidas, Balenciaga, Foot Locker, Vogue, his talent agency CAA, his lawyer Camille Vasquez, and Def Jam Records. Then Pusha T resigned as president of Ye’s record label, G.O.O.D. Music.
Kanye West’s Cancellation Led to a Disturbing Trail of Antisemitic Comments
It was a thorough cancellation, and Kanye West’s response was to blame the Jews. He claimed Jews ran the media and had black-balled him in some dark conspiracy, vowing to go “death con 3” on them. Death con 3 was a malapropism of the US Dept of Defense’s phrase DEFCON 3, which is two steps below nuclear war. His words sparked worldwide outrage, interpreted as a call to violence against a race of people who have experienced genocide more than once.
“You gotta hear the s—t this guy’s into,” Howard Stern said at the time. “Kanye used to be fun crazy. Now he’s like Hitler… I’m really tired of people excusing his behavior by saying ‘Well he’s just mentally ill’.”
Poor Kim Kardashian had to once again go into damage-control mode on behalf of her ex-husband. She was spotted at a 3-hour dinner with Ivanka Trump amid the antisemitic controversy. According to TMZ, an insider overheard Kardashian say she was concerned about her children hearing what their father had said, especially because they had Jewish cousins. Ivanka Trump is also married to Jared Kushner, who is Jewish. And making it all more perplexing is Kanye West’s close relationship to Donald Trump, who has become figurehead for the alt-right.
West Apologized, But Then Praised Hitler
Nothing seemed to get through to Kanye West, although for a moment we thought otherwise. While speaking with Piers Morgan, he first doubled down on his sentiments. But then he apologized. “I will say, I’m sorry for the people that I hurt with the DEFCON,” West said. “The confusion that I caused. I feel like I caused hurt and confusion and I’m sorry for the families that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through… Hurt people hurt people — and I was hurt.”
About a month later, West defended the Nazis and started praising Hitler. There was nothing that could be done about the hatred, it seemed.
Until Jonah Hill.
Jonah Hill Actually Starred In a Movie About Antisemitism… But That Wasn’t the Movie Kanye Was Referring To
It’s not clear if there was a line in 21 Jump Street that got through to Kanye West, or if it was just the fact that Jonah Hill is Jewish. If this were about a deeper plot and interpretation of unconscious bias, we’d expect something more along the lines of You People. The newly released film co-stars Eddie Murphy and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an African American dad and a Jewish mom who keep getting in the way of their respective children’s relationship. The racism and cluelessness exuded by the parents are so painful to watch, it makes you squirm. They almost completely destroy their kids’ marriage plans until finally, something gets through to them. It’s a fantastic movie about racism and unconscious bias, Blacks and Jews, starring Jonah Hill.
But no, it was 21 Jump Street that made Kanye West see the light.
Seth Rogen Was Asked If He Was “Jealous” That Jonah Hill “Cured” Kanye West’s Antisemitism
Seth Rogen is close friends with Jonah Hill and has been his regular collaborator over the years. As a fellow Jewish creative and beloved comedian and actor, CinemaBlend wanted to know how he felt about Hill’s impact on Kanye West. Jeff McCobb was interviewing Rogen about the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which the actor voices Donkey Kong.
“In light of recent news, I have to start by asking if you’re jealous that Jonah Hill cured Kanye’s antisemitism,” McCobb said with a deadpan.
Rogen immediately lost it.
“You know what, he can have it,” said Rogen. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. “Happy to be left out of that one.”
“But you know what, good,” Rogen continued. “Cured.”
“Good for Jonah, you know,” said McCobb.
“You know, they should send that movie around the world. Let everyone watch it,” Rogen laughed.”
“21 Jump Street World Peace,” McCobb quipped.
“Exactly. I wrote some jokes for that movie, so I feel slight ownership,” Rogen added.
