Wiley's Twitter account permanently suspended, after controversial tweets

The decision, announced Wednesday, follows a 48-hour boycott by many users, notably British and Jewish, over what they deemed as Twitter’s failure to reprimand the artist over his tweets in a timely manner.

The Twitter application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/THOMAS WHITE)
The Twitter application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/THOMAS WHITE)
The Twitter account of the British rapper Wiley has been permanently suspended following a seven-day ban for a series of semitic tweets seen as antisemitic.

The decision, announced Wednesday, follows a 48-hour boycott by many users, notably British and Jewish, over what they deemed as Twitter’s failure to reprimand the artist over his tweets in a timely manner.

It also comes a day after Facebook and Instagram removed Wiley’s private and verified accounts for similar conduct.

Twitter in a statement said it was sorry it “did not move faster” and was “continuing to assess the situation internally. ”

“We deeply respect the concerns shared by the Jewish community and online safety advocates,” the social media network also said in the statement, which promised to work against antisemitism on the platform.

Among Wiley’s comments were “I don’t care about Hitler, I care about black people” and “There are 2 sets of people who nobody has really wanted to challenge #Jewish & #KKK but being in business for 20 years you start to undestand [sic] why,” according to reports. They led his Jewish manager to quit representing him.