Ice Cube on Kanye Bringing Him Up During ‘Drink Champs’ Episode: ‘Leave My Name Out of All the Antisemitic Talk’

Ice Cube has addressed being mentioned in the latest (and since-removed) episode of Drink Champs, saying he “didn’t put the batteries” in the artist formerly known as Kanye West’s back.

In a tweet shared Tuesday, Cube said he didn’t know “what Ye meant” with regards to his remarks and urged those with such questions to direct their inquiries toward Ye himself. And while Cube himself has faced allegations of antisemitism in the past, including in connection with his support of Louis Farrakhan, Cube said he’s “never” been antisemitic.

“Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk,” Cube said. “I’m not antisemitic and never have been.”

In the Drink Champs episode, Ye mentioned Cube on multiple occasions, at one point in connection with his own remarks that have been widely called out in recent days as antisemitic.

“You know, Cube’s really set me up for this,” Ye said, adding that Cube “really influenced” him to “get on this antisemite vibe.”

As the Anti-Defamation League noted in their breakdown of Ye’s remarks, “prominent conspiracy theorists” and “extremist groups” swiftly leveraged Ye’s recent quotes in promotion of their hate ideologies.

During the same Drink Champs episode, Ye also parroted false claims surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Those remarks ultimately resulted in Tuesday’s announcement of a $250 million lawsuit against Ye, as well as against his “business partners” and “associates.”

Meanwhile, a Drink Champs rep said in a statement to Complex and other outlets on Tuesday that the latest Ye episode had been removed from distribution due to its inclusion of “false and hurtful information regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder of George Floyd.”