"2016 Yeezy back?"— Netizens react to Kanye West launching "White Lives Matter" t-shirts after Diddy merch

Kanye West, also known as Ye, has reportedly released official "White Lives Matter" sweatshirts on his Yeezy website, just hours after announcing his "Sean John" collaboration merch with Diddy. On February 6, 2024, the rapper took to his X account to call for Diddy's freedom before launching their new merch.

Shortly after, the rapper also added the "White Lives Matter" sweatshirt to his shop. Kanye West has a history with the controversial phrase, having worn a T-shirt with the slogan during his Paris Fashion Week show in 2022. This incident garnered backlash from several activists and his peers.

The release of Kanye West's new "White Lives Matter" clothing was met with widespread criticism on social media. One user questioned whether they were witnessing a return of 2016 Yeezy, writing:

"Oh man, he ain't stopping. 2016 Yeezy back?"

Many netizens condemned the rapper for the move, while others expressed relief that they stopped supporting Ye years ago.

"Thank god i stopped being a fan of ye when he started beefing w drake, ts comes as no surprise to me," one person tweeted.

"We just releasing anything now huh (skull emoji)," another person added.

"When you’re powerful enough but lost and can’t be saved," someone else commented.

"Put this man in jail bro he just annoying," another user posted.

Others commented on Kanye West dropping the controversial merch on Black History Month.

"On black history month is actually insane," one person wrote.

"Ye will still be ye . But on BHM is insane too far," another person added.

Meanwhile, some netizens accused Ye of being an attention seeker with his supposed antics.

"I've not seen anybody this desperate for attention in a while," one user commented.

"He had attention withdrawal," someone else added.

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Diddy and Kanye West clashed over the latter's White Lives Matter incident in 2022

While Kanye West recently defended Diddy amid the latter's upcoming trial for s*x trafficking and pr*otitution, the two rappers publicly feuded after West's controversial "White Lives Matter" move during his Paris Fashion Week show in 2022. At the event, West and conservative political pundit Candace Owens wore "White Lives Matter" t-shirts, garnering immense backlash.

For the unversed, White Lives Matter is the antithesis of the political Black Lives Matter movement, which gained attention in 2014 after the police killing of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, in Missouri. The movement gained a global platform following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a police officer, leading to large-scale protests worldwide.

Diddy was among those who criticized Kanye West's fashion statement, which promoted a message used by white supremacists against the Black community. At the time, Puffy addressed the controversy in an Instagram video, saying:

“I am not about to be addressing every last thing that’s going on in the world on the internet, but the thing I do have to address is this ‘white lives matter’ t-shirt. I’ve always been there, and I will always support my brother Kanye as a freethinker. But the ‘white lives matter’ t-shirt, I don’t rock with it, you know what I’m saying? I’m not with it.”

In response, Kanye West posted a series of alleged text exchanges between himself and Diddy, in which West told his fellow rapper, "Nobody gets in between me and my money." He also allegedly texted Diddy that he was going to use him "as an example to show the Jewish people" that no one can threaten him.

For context, West launched an anti-semitic tirade against Jewish people around the same time as the Paris Fashion Week debacle. According to Billboard, Diddy allegedly responded to Kanye West's message by writing:

“I’m just trying to talk to you as a black man. And I’m talking to you because this is hurting our people. Stop.”

Kanye West responded that he would publicly post any message that Diddy sent him, adding, "You guys are breaking my heart. I accept your apology in advance.”

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In other news, on February 6, 2025, Kanye West called for Sean "Diddy" Combs' freedom in a series of social media posts, announcing the release of their collaboration merch "Sean John." The rapper tagged President Donald Trump in one post, asking him to, "Free my brother Puff." As of now, Ye is following only his wife, Diddy, and his two sons, Justin and Christian Combs, on Instagram.

It is unclear what kicked off West's serial posting on X. The rapper is still actively posting on X at the time of this article. His latest post was uploaded minutes ago, where he wrote, "EVERYTHING I DO OR MAKE IS SELF SERVING."