Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West – may have his own social media platform soon. On Monday, the artist announced via a Parlement Technologies statement that he plans to purchase the right-wing social media company Parler. 

Financial terms of the deal have not come to light, but both parties reached an agreement in principle. Ye and Parler intend to reach a definitive agreement and seal the deal by the end of 2022. If it goes through, Ye will have the opportunity of setting a social media platform by his own rules. 

Ye has become notorious for his controversies over the years. His views on political matters have gotten him banned – albeit temporarily – from a number of social media websites. Twitter locked him out earlier in October after he made a series of antisemitic posts on the platform.

Instagram also locked his profile, although it hasn’t been revealed which of his posts caused the platform’s parent, Meta, to do so. Before the ban, Ye posted a few screenshots of a conversation he’s had with Sean Combs and captioned it as “an example to the Jewish population”.

Ye’s latest controversy began at the artist’s fashion show in early October. While attending his Yeezy event, the fashion mogul and musician wore a t-shirt that said “White Lives Matter”.. The Anti-Defamation League considers the phrase as white supremacist. Since the event, Ye’s long-standing partnership with Adidas is under review. 

In a statement, Ye said that in a world where having a conservative opinion is controversial, people have to make sure they have the right to free speech. Now he’s on his way to purchase Parler in an attempt to avoid possible bans in the future. 

Founded in 2018, Parler came about as an alternative to Twitter. Since then, it has become sort of a social media hub for Trump supporters to discuss subjects like guns, violence and the former President election claims that came to light before the Capitol Riots. 

Shortly after the Jan. 06 riots, Amazon Web Services cut ties with Parler, which forced the website to go offline. Soon after, both Apple and Google removed the app from their online stores. 

Parler then used an alternative hosting service and relaunched its platform in early 2021. Apple added the social media platform again in its App Store mid-2021, and Parler returned to Google Play just last month. 

Parlement Technologies CEO, George Farmer, said in a release that with Ye’s purchase of the right-wing social media website, he’ll never have to fear being banned for expressing his views on social media ever again. 

What’s left now is to wait and see if the deal will go through or if Ye will do as his close friend, Elon Musk, and drag the buyout for as long as he can. 

The year is coming to an end, and we brought a list with the most downloaded apps of 2022 so far. Do you think Parler made the cut? Follow the link below to find out!