Kanye to Buy Parler

Billionaire rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye, agreed yesterday to purchase the social media platform Parler for an unknown sum. The news comes a week after both Instagram and Twitter restricted Ye's accounts for violating user policies.

Founded in 2018, Parler jumped in popularity after Facebook and Twitter banned former President Donald Trump in early 2021. Parler's parent company reportedly received $56M in recent funding, and estimates peg its monthly active users at roughly 700,000. For comparison, Twitter and Facebook report nearly 450 million and 3 billion MAUs, respectively. Ye's two-decade career in music and fashion has made him one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with a net worth of $2B, although some of his longtime collaborators are reviewing their partnerships with him.

Separately, the family of George Floyd is considering a lawsuit against Ye for his recent claims Floyd died from an overdose, despite the April 2021 murder conviction of ex-officer Derek Chauvin.