Lyor Cohen Denies His Selfie With Kanye Endorsed White Power — Or Trump

Image by Twitter

By Aiden Pink April 26, 2018

Kayne West’s series of Twitter messages praising President Trump on Wednesday included a selfie with music mogul Lyor Cohen flashing a hand signal that some assumed to have connections to the “alt-right.”

Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, showed the “OK” sign while standing next to West, who was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. The sign has been appropriated by white nationalist figures like Milo Yiannopoulos and writers of the conspiracy theory blog The Gateway Pundit, who flashed the sign in the White House Press Room.

But a YouTube representative told Spin that the hand signal had any nefarious connections. “The hand gesture made by Lyor Cohen is representative of the company he founded, 300 Entertainment and absolutely nothing more,” the spokesperson wrote.

TMZ noted that Lyor had made the gesture many times before.

While many fans have expressed their disappointment that West has seemed to embrace President Trump, Cohen is sticking with him.

“I went to listen to music and see Kanye,” Cohen said in a statement explaining the selfie. “He is someone I care about. I don’t abandon people. With great music comes great pain and stress. The music is incredible!”

Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount