Music community join Twitter 'walkout' in support of #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate

The Twitter boycott follows Grime artist Wiley's comments on social media

Jay Rayner
Published 27th Jul 2020
Last updated 28th Jul 2020

Following the news recently that UK rapper Wiley, real name Richard Cowie, posted a number of anti-Semitic comments on both Twitter and Instagram, many members of the music community and celebrities have come together to join a planned Twitter 'walkout' in support of #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate.

The 'walkout' follows criticism of the time it took Twitter to remove posts, with tweets still visible 12 hours after they were first posted.

In response to this, members of the music community such as jazz pianist and food critic Jay Rayner have joined the campaign, stating "Twitter has broken its own terms of service".

Figures, like music writer Philip Clark, have also pledged their support of the movement.

Music organisations have also got behind the movement, with The Ivors Academy, Independent Venue Week and the Musicians' Union also joining the collective action.

This follows Wiley's management announcing on Twitter that they would be cutting ties with the artist.

Police are now investigating the comments made on the Wiley's Instagram and Twitter accounts on Friday that led to him being banned from both platforms for seven days. Wiley's offensive tweets have now been removed, however his accounts still remain.

Nicknamed the 'godfather of grime', Wiley has had success in the UK with 14 albums, 29 singles, and has more than 940,000 followers on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Here at our parent company Bauer Media, we firmly stand against anti-Semitism and all other forms of racism.

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