American journalist and author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, has deleted his Twitter account following a dispassionate debate with philosopher and social critic, Cornel West.
“Peace, y’all. I’m out,” Mr. Coates tweeted on Tuesday on his now-defunct account. “I didn’t get in it for this.”
Mr. West recently lashed out at Mr. Coates in an article for The Guardian in the UK, accusing him of being too soft on former President Barack Obama.
Mr. West, 64, said Mr. Coates, 42, allegedly “fetishises white supremacy” and holding a “preoccupation with white acceptance” and an “allegiance” to Mr. Obama.
“It is clear that [Mr. Coates’] narrow racial tribalism and myopic political neoliberalism has (sic) no place for keeping track of Wall Street greed, US imperial crimes or black elite indifference to poverty,” Mr. West wrote.
The article sparked online uproar after the duo engaged in open disagreement, eventually leading Mr. Coates to delete his Twitter account early Tuesday with 1.2 million followers.
Mr. Coates, whose writes for The Atlantic won the 2015 National Book Award for his non-fiction book which chronicled his experience with racism in America.
He recently published a book titled: “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.”
The book reflected on the historical and cultural transition from Mr. Obama to the incumbent President Donald Trump.
Mr. Coates used his Twitter account for political commentary.
Mr. West has been described as a long-time intellectual whose provocative views are often aimed at driving debates about contemporary issues.
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