Kanye West's Instagram Ban Doesn't Go Nearly Far Enough

Kanye West has finally caught a social media ban for his escalating behavior toward his ex Kim Kardashian, her boyfriend comedian Pete Davidson, and anyone notable who comments on how toxic he’s been acting since his breakup and divorce. He won’t be able to post, comment, or DM on Instagram for 24 hours — which isn’t nearly long enough.

According to CNN, West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, specifically got suspended from Instagram after calling comedian Trevor Noah a racial slur in response to Noah’s comments on The Daily Show about West’s recent harassing behavior. The post about Noah — which has been deleted by Instagram — replaced the lyrics to the song "Kumbaya" with a racial epithet.

Meta, the company that owns Instagram, confirmed with CNN that West was banned yesterday for violating their hate speech, bullying, and harassment policies. The spokesperson added that Meta may take further action if necessary.

Noah was targeted by Ye after a segment aired on The Daily Show on Tuesday in which the talk show host discussed how Kim and Kanye’s breakup is something “more people should pay attention to” because it shines a light on how common prolonged harassment is after a breakup.

“What we’re seeing is one of the richest people in the world unable to get her ex to stop texting her, to stop chasing after her, to stop harassing her — think about how powerful she is, and she can’t get that to happen,” he says.

Noah, who noted that he comes from a household where his mom endured spousal abuse, is completely on point. While the drama between Kanye and Kim could be seen as nothing more than tabloid fodder, it’s actually a much bigger opportunity for us to look critically at how we handle post-break-up harassment and toxic ex behavior as a society — and what we can do about it.

"What I see in this situation is a woman who wants to live her life without being harassed by her ex... You may not feel sorry for Kim because she's rich and famous," Noah continues. "But what she's going through is terrifying to watch and shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave."

Not only does Kardashian deserve to be left alone after her break-up, she deserves to feel safe. Unfortunately, abusive behavior in relationships can actually intensify after a breakup, when the abuser realizes they are losing their victim. Getting them back can include verbal abuse, stalking, and violence. In fact, 75% of people who are murdered by their abusive partner are killed after they leave.

The worst part is that there are few systematic measures in place to keep women safe from toxic exes and emotional abuse — even with a wealth of resources Kardashian isn’t much different than anyone who’s ever had to get a new phone number, move apartments, call the police, or take other drastic actions to escape an ex who is crossing lines.

Bottom line: a 24-hour Instagram ban isn’t going to fix the issue between Kim and Kanye, and it’s a shoddy gesture toward a much bigger problem.

Noah alluded to West’s mental health struggles, but refused to see it as an excuse for his troubling and concerning actions.

"What's weird about the situation is Kanye West has told us that he struggles with his mental health, so I get it. You want to have art as therapy, but here's what's weird — what Kanye doesn't understand is that what we're seeing makes you uncomfortable," Noah says.

West likely needs help, but he also just needs to stop. And Kardashian needs support that comes in a better form than 24-hour social media bans.