Twitter has suspended the account of New York rapper Azealia Banks following a series of racist and homophobic tweets directed at singer Zayn Malik.
The suspension came following an exchange beginning Tuesday when Banks, 24, posted an Instagram message suggesting that shots in a Malik music video strongly resembled shots in some of hers.
After Malik posted two tweets possibly alluding to Banks, she responded with a homophobic slur, according to screengrabs on CNN and elsewhere. She later tweeted that he acts “like a white boy pretending to be black.”
Malik tweeted back, “Why you been saying nasty things about me? I wasn’t talking about you lol?” Banks responded with racist tweets attacking, among other things, Malik’s Pakistani heritage. When 14-year-old Disney Channel star Skai Jackson tweeted, “Azealia Banks needs to simmer down a little,” Banks responded with crude remarks.
On Wednesday, Banks offered partial regrets, tweeting, “Big apologies to anyone who was offended by any of the things I said . . . Not apologizing for my words WHATSOEVER, apologizing for the way people feel.”
By Thursday morning, Banks’ Twitter address redirected to “Account suspended.”
A Twitter representative told Time magazine the company could not comment on individual accounts.
