Ross & Rachel Have Entered the Kanye Chat

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been taking the whole “there’s no such thing as bad press” thing far too seriously, and it’s drawing reactions from across the celebrity-sphere – including from Ross Geller and Rachel Green. 

After Ye unleashed a deranged stream of antisemitism last week, David Schwimmer posted a response on his Instagram account that called attention to the startling number of hate crimes committed against Jewish people in America and called out those who defend the increasingly reactionary and decreasingly coherent music mogul. Jennifer Aniston liked the post, which gave media outlets – this one included – full license to link the two in a sort of bizarre, racially charged Friends reunion story.

Ye launched his latest and not-so-greatest meltdown with a post from his since-banned Twitter account that read, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” He followed that up with the similarly bizarre and disturbing tweet of “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

David Schwimmer, who was raised Jewish, posted a picture on his Instagram of the word “bYE” (a slightly awkward play on the musician’s new moniker) and captioned it with the disturbing truth about hate crimes and the Jewish community.

“Anti-semitism is on the rise globally,” Schwimmer began, “Jews make up only 2.4% of the population of the United States but are the victims of more than 60% of all religious hate crimes. Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there's no question he is a bigot. His hate speech calls for violence against Jews.”

The Friends star also called out those who continue to defend the music and fashion icon as Ye’s public statements have grown increasingly vitriolic and unhinged. Schwimmer said in the post, “If you interpret (Ye’s) words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are racist. If we don’t call someone as influential as Kanye out for his divisive, ignorant and anti-semitic words then we are complicit. Silence is complicity.”

Those who watched the FX anthology season The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story will recall that David Schwimmer played the unconvicted athlete’s friend and lawyer Robert Kardashian, who just so happens to be the deceased father of Ye’s ex-wife Kim. Much has been speculated about Ye’s mental state during the last week as he’s unleashed his anti-Semitic tirades, incorrectly claimed that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose, and is now attempting to buy the alt-right social media platform Parler. Maybe Ye will mistake Schwimmer for the actual Robert Kardashian and the post will inspire him to change his ways, à la Bob Cratchit and A Christmas Carol.

Or maybe we need Kelsey Grammar and the cast of Frasier to weigh in – he is a psychiatrist after all.

Top image: NBC and Liam Goodner / Shutterstock.com