Twitter User "Ye" Feels the Heat as Kanye West Fans Demand the Username

 

Kanye West is willing to drop what's left of one name. But there's just one problem: the @Ye Twitter (now X) handle is already taken, and fans of the artist formerly known as Kanye aren't exactly begging politely for it. So, over the weekend, Ye announced that he has had enough of the @kanyewest handle already and tweeted:

"Now I'm being harassed for not being a good speller, and I could not allow YE to go on itself. Time to use my superpowers to help," he tweeted. Gonna start a ye account, and it is what it is."

But the username he is after has been taken since 2007. The owner of @Ye is just some regular person who probably had no idea that their quiet corner of the internet was about to be turned into a digital battlefield.

Within hours of Ye's post, the @Ye account was besieged with messages, some begging and others borderline threatening. It all looks pretty tongue-in-cheek, though the tone is uniformly chill. Comments that mock him, like "Just give him the @ bro," "Enjoy ur username while you still have it," and "Black vans about to pull up on your gang," illustrate rampant fandom on the verge of cyberbullying.

The account holder has not publicly replied, but the heat is on. Some online observers are already speculating that the user may demand a high price in return for the handle, provided they're willing to part with it. With a long-term account like that, there's no telling how invested it is or how deep Ye's pockets would need to be.

For those who haven't been keeping up, Kanye West officially changed his name to Ye in October 2021, filing to switch in the Los Angeles Superior Court in August for "personal reasons." The court approved the request, making the name change legally official and permanent.

He has been using the name in public for years, and he previously named his 2018 album "Ye," and once famously said, "The being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE." His team has sought to pressure media and platforms to respect the change, but the public and even some publishers haven't exactly rushed to comply. For all his hatred-assuaging intentions, complete rebranding hasn't been simple: He is a divisive figure with a rough past and an often inflammatory bedside manner.

Still, Ye appears determined to assert his name on every outpost of the digital world, and if that means ruffling a few feathers, then so be it.

As for the owner of @Ye? They may want to turn off those notifications or seek a good lawyer. Someone will eventually knock on your digital door if your username is suddenly worth gold because it is the key to a high-profile prize.