Metropolitan police have launched an investigation into a series of anti-Semitic tweets made by the grime music star Wiley after the Campaign Against Antisemitism called for a probe and for his accounts to be closed “to prevent further outpouring of anti-Jewish venom”
“We are aware of reports of alleged antisemitic comments posted on social media and are looking into the matter,” a police spokesperson said as cited by Independent.
Earlier in the day it was revealed that rapper and producer Wiley has been dropped by his management company and temporarily banned from posting on Twitter after writing a series of anti-semitic comments on his social media accounts on Friday.
John Woolf, a manager of the so-called “Godfather of Grime”, said that A-List Management had “dropped all ties” with the rapper after the comments were made.
Following Wileys anti semitic tweets today we at @A_ListMGMT have cut all ties with him. There is no place in society for antisemitism.
— John Woolf (@Jrwoolfw) July 24, 2020
The 41-year-old musician meanwhile posted a screenshot on his Instagram account on Saturday morning confirming that Twitter had temporarily locked him out of his account. A short time later he resumed posting again, writing “Back in action.”
On 24 July, Wiley shared anti-semitic content with his more than 440,000 Instagram and 490,000 Twitter followers.
His tweets included a string of statements such as "I don't care about Hitler, I care about black people" and he also drew comparisons between Jewish people and the Klu Klux Klan.
Wiley seems to be having a bit of a racist meltdown.
— Alastair Thompson (@AlastairJT) July 24, 2020
Also tweeting about "the KKK and Jews" being in power. He does know what the KKK did to Jewish people, right? pic.twitter.com/imDl67DfWs
Many users have criticised Twitter for allowing Wiley’s posts to remain visible and for not cancelling his account.
The fact that after nearly a day, Wiley’s antisemitic diatribes are still up & his account is still active tells you everything you need to know out how powerful the supposed Jewish cabal he thinks is silencing him actually is
— Sara Gibbs (@Sara_Rose_G) July 25, 2020
Imagine if a Jewish person with a platform of half a million followers was tweeting for 24 hours straight the N-word, using dehumanising language & nothing was being done by the platform. How is what Wiley is doing any different from that?
— Jolyon Rubinstein (@JolyonRubs) July 25, 2020