Wiley says “I was shut down by Facebook, and we all know who owns it”
Wiley has suggested that he was booted from Facebook because its founder and chief executive is a Jew, saying: “I was shut down by Facebook, and we all know who owns it”.
The antisemite grime artist made the comments in an interview with an internet football website, FilthyFellas, which commented on its YouTube channel that Wiley’s antisemitic rampage on social media last month was “wrong and poorly considered and very dangerous.”
However, he showed little remorse in his conversation with interviewer Poet.
Among his comments, he said of the Jews: “They own everything. I’m not antisemitic if I say the Jewish community’s very powerful, they own this, they own that – I’m not wrong. I’m not wrong. If I say there’s Sheikhs who own a lot of oil – am I wrong?”
He also suggested that his social media accounts on numerous platforms were deleted because he tried to represent “my people”. He said: “Twitter, shut down – who owns Twitter, do you reckon? Instagram, shut down – who owns Instagram, do you reckon? Facebook – shut down – we all know who owns Facebook. YouTube, Google, who owns that do you reckon? That’s the first lot of people who have shown who they are. My thing was just drawing out certain – and you saw what came out, what they said, even down to things like Israel is your place, but bet you can’t come and get it.”
Wiley also claimed that his rant last month has partly inspired by Nick Cannon, the American rapper and television personality who recently courted controversy with antisemitic comments, for which he has sought to make amends.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Wiley to prosecuted, for his MBE to be revoked – and the Cabinet Office has confirmed to us that it has opened a case – and for his 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded.
We have also launched two petitions: one calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of their MBEs, which can be signed here, and the other calling for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year, which can be signed here.
Following Wiley’s antisemitic rant, 700 musicians and members of the music industry signed a letter decrying racism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.
