Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kanye West at New York Fashion week in September 2018

Just when we were getting used to the regular stream of controversial statements spouted by Kanye West, he's disappeared from social media.

It looks like he deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts on Saturday night.

The rapper, who wants to be referred to as Ye, recently came under fire for saying that the 13th amendment of the US Constitution, which brought an end to slavery, should be abolished - a statement that he later clarified.

Apparently he meant to write "amend".

And his performance on the American comedy show Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago sparked outrage and amusement in equal measure.

The singer, who is married to Kim Kardashian, wore a hat with Donald Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" and apparently gave an unscripted, off-air rant in support of the president to the audience.

Excerpts filmed by the audience and shared on social media show the rapper discuss his support for President Trump, his pledge to run for president in 2020 and the need for a "dialogue not a diatribe" .

"So many times I talk to a white person and [they] say, 'How could you like Trump, he's racist?'" he said. "Well, if I was concerned about racism I would've moved out of America a long time ago."

Image copyright Saturday Night Live / NBC Image caption Kanye West wore one of Trump's "Make America Great Again" hats on Saturday Night Live

This isn't the first time that Kanye has removed his social media accounts. He reappeared on Twitter in April after a year-long absence.

On the same platform, he recently changed his profile name to Ye and asked that people refer to him by his new name.

He was also using Twitter to try and be a peacemaker, by urging Colin Kaepernick to "tell your experience directly" to Donald Trump.

The NFL quarterback was the first player to kneel during during the pre-game national anthem in 2016, kickstarting a campaign to highlight racial injustice in the United States.

Kaepernick's been criticised by the US president, but awarded by Amnesty International and become the face of Nike's new advertising campaign.

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