The smell of paint still hung in the air Thursday morning as Chicago pedestrians walked past the mural.
mural image of Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, was painted over Wednesday, as fallout over the Chicago native’s recent string of controversial and anti-semitic public statements earned him censure in his hometown.
A few days ago, Wilson said he reached out to the artist to ask about altering or removing the mural in response to Ye’s recent remarks. Ryan Johnson, a Chicago native, had seen pictures of the mural being painted over on social media and left his West Loop office to snap a photo. Johnson had been a fan of Ye and his music until "about the last two or three years."
Instagram and Twitter had suspended Ye’s social media accounts in recent weeks, but on Thursday, his Instagram account was reactivated, and the rapper had restarted his postings.