Kanye West answers questions from Sr. pastor Joel Osteen during the 11 am service at Lakewood Church on Nov. 17, 2019, in Houston.
AP Photo/Michael WykeYe is starting fresh. Followers of the artist formerly known as Kanye West were in for a surprise on Monday (Nov. 29) when the rapper’s Instagram was scrubbed clean of all photos.
Whether Ye had deleted or simply archived all of his posts was unclear, but the 9.5 million users who follow him were greeted with the message “No posts yet” on a stark white background to correspond with his blank, black profile photo.
Of course, Ye has always had a famously tempestuous relationship to social media – though it’s typically his Twitter account that gets deactivated and revived on a somewhat regular basis. In recent days, the “Praise God” rapper had used his Instagram Stories to continue his public plea to reconcile with estranged wife Kim Kardashian through a publicly broadcast Thanksgiving prayer. (“All I think about every day is how I get my family back together,” he said in the video.)
He also mourned the death of Virgil Abloh over the weekend by sharing a Sunday Service Choir performance of Adele’s latest No. 1 hit “Easy on Me” dedicated to the memory of his late friend.
Ye’s decision to wipe his social slate clean comes on the heels of his latest spate of Grammy nominations. While his long-gestating 2021 album DONDA was reportedly a late addition to the album of the year race alongside rival Taylor Swift’s Evermore, the rapper also received additional nods for best melodic rap performance (for “Hurricane” featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby), best rap song (for “Jail” featuring Jay-Z), and best rap album. (He’s also listed as a songwriter on Lil Nas X’s fellow album of the year nominee MONTERO.)
Sade will not be attending their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this week.
The English group, made up of Sade Adu, Paul Denman, Stuart Matthewman, and Andrew Hale, are among this year's inductees into the prestigious institution. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles this Saturday.
However, a representative for Sade confirmed on Tuesday through the band's official website that none of the members would be attending the event.
"We're sorry that we won't be able to join everyone in person to celebrate alongside the other artists. However, our absence does not lessen how deeply this recognition means to us," they stated. "Being welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a wonderful honour and a meaningful opportunity to express our gratitude, not just to everyone who voted for us, but to every person who has made our music part of their lives."
The representative also acknowledged their manager Roger Davies for his support and paid tribute to the late engineer and co-producer Mike Pela, who passed away in 2022.
"We owe so much to everyone who has supported us throughout this journey," they continued, before signing the message: "Sade, Stuart, Andrew, and Paul. Mike Pela, the fifth member of Sade... This recognition belongs to you just as much as it does to us, Mike. You will always be our soul mate."
Sade will be joining Oasis among the artists missing this year's ceremony. Liam Gallagher previously addressed his absence in a message on X, saying the journey was "too far" for him to make just "for the night".
The other musicians being recognised at this weekend's ceremony include Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, the late Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan.
