Kanye West Just Hit Rock Bottom — And He Dressed for It

*Kanye West at the Met Gala, 2019. Photo courtesy of Cosmopolitan UK under CC BY 3.0.

Kanye West has always courted controversy, but his latest on-camera stunt might be his most inflammatory yet. The rapper — now known as "Ye" — showed up for a livestream interview with DJ Akademiks wearing a pointed black leather hood that closely resembled the infamous garb of the Ku Klux Klan.

What made the moment even more jarring? When he finally removed the hood, Ye revealed a T-shirt designed by Sean "Diddy" Combs — currently awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges — and a swastika necklace he's worn before alongside white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

The scene unfolded during a one-hour conversation released on March 30 on the online video platform Rumble. Even DJ Akademiks, a popular but often polarizing livestreamer, appeared visibly stunned by Ye's entrance — and it wasn't hard to see why.

The Most Hate-Filled Costume?

According to Ye, the black hood wasn't a spontaneous fashion choice — it was custom-made, along with a white version of the same outfit. "I wanted to wear it yesterday," he said, according to Mediaite. "But I was worried that people would put me in a hospital for my outfit."

This is only the latest shocking behavior from Ye. He has spent the past several months making headlines for his erratic public behavior and his continued flirtation with Nazi symbolism. Instagram removed a recent post in which he called his white KKK robe the "outfit of the day," citing its policies on hate speech, as reported by the Independent. The platform also took down a now-deleted post featuring a swastika-inspired image he claimed was Sunday Service album art.

Diddy Connection Raises Eyebrows

Under the hood, Ye sported a T-shirt designed by Diddy — a choice that raised even more eyebrows.

Diddy, once a titan of the music industry, is currently jailed and awaiting trial on charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting individuals for prostitution. Federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, uncovering what prosecutors allege were supplies for multi-day "freak-off" events involving drugs, IV drips, and hundreds of bottles of lubricant, as reported by PEOPLE.

Ye didn't shy away from discussing Diddy's legal troubles. In fact, he reportedly claimed the media is unfairly targeting Black artists while ignoring similar behavior from others in the music industry, according to Mediaite.

Still, it was hard not to see Ye's outfit choice — layering a KKK-inspired hood, a Diddy tee, and a swastika — as provocative or even a cultural Molotov cocktail.

An Ongoing Descent?

Ye's behavior is part of a larger pattern since the unraveling of his marriage to Kim Kardashian. In the same interview, he vented about his ex-wife, even expressing regret about having children with her. According to Billboard, he said, "I didn't want to have children with this person after the first two months of being with her. But that wasn't God's plan." Ye and Kardashian have four children together.

Ye also dissed fellow artists like Kendrick Lamar, Playboi Carti, and Jay-Z, reportedly doubling down on the insults he threw at Jay-Z's children in a since deleted tweet from March, according to Billboard.

"Everything is like, 'But you offended Jay-Z.' F–k him," Ye told Akademiks, Billboard reports. "Put it like this — let's take it to money — how much money you think Jay-Z makes off my catalog versus what I make off it? Next subject."

The backlash online was swift. One user on X wrote, "This dude just needs to go away," as reported by the Independent. Another added, "I would've ended the interview right there. An absolute clown."

Once hailed as a visionary and a billionaire, Ye's public identity now feels like a prolonged act of self-destruction—with disturbing accessories. For his part, Ye seems to welcome the chaos. Whatever his motivations, one thing's clear: Ye still knows how to grab attention.

References: WATCH: Kanye West Stuns Interviewer as He Shows Up in KKK-Inspired Outfit | Kanye West condemned for wearing black KKK outfit during controversial interview | 8 Things We Learned From Ye’s Interview With DJ Akademiks | A Timeline of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Sexual Assault Allegations and Arrest