The artist formerly known as Kanye West has recently espoused rhetoric many have perceived as antisemitic. After his now infamous tweet where he claimed he’d “go death con 3 on Jewish people” and that he was incapable of being antisemitic because “black people are actually Jew.”
Ye also went on the Drink Champs podcast, calling out the “Jewish media.” In a brief interview with TMZ, Ye clarified that he doesn’t wish any harm on Jewish people but also implied that Jews run the banks and Hollywood in the same statement. In an interview with Piers Morgan, Ye said “I feel like I caused hurt and confusion. And I’m sorry for the families of the people that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through and that I used my platform where you say hurt people hurt people. I was hurt.” He also said earlier in the interview that he didn’t regret what he said in his tweet.
Even with half apologies and clarifications, the backlash faced by Ye has been harsh. Perhaps most prominently, Adidas cut ties with the rapper after public outcry. Before the incident, Ye appeared to taunt Adidas on Drink Champs, saying: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemetic sh*t, and they can’t drop me… now what?”
Sales and production of his Yeezy branded products and payments to Ye and his companies have stopped. According to Adidas, they expect to lose $246 million in sales this quarter. This deals a significant financial blow to Ye; it has been calculated that as a result of this deal’s termination, he is no longer a billionaire.
Following the news from Adidas, The Gap announced that they would be removing Yeezy products from their stores. Additionally, a Footlocker spokesperson said they wouldn’t support any future Yeezy product drops and are pulling Yeezys from their in-person and digital stores.
Balenciaga and Vogue have also cut ties with the rapper, an upcoming documentary on West also being shelved. Ye’s talent agency, the Creative Artists Agency, has also dropped him. Lastly, Professional athletes Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown announced that they were leaving Ye’s sports agency, Donda Sports.
Ye is currently restricted from Instagram and temporarily blocked from Twitter. He frequently posted on the right-wing social media site Parler and even said he planned on purchasing the app several weeks ago. This was before Ye posted to Parler, “I’m starting to think antisemitic means n*****” This post received a content warning from Parler and the app censored Ye’s post entirely on Apple’s iOS products.
With pressure coming from all angles, Ye seems more willing to double down on his controversial takes rather than completely apologize for them. While it’s unknown what Ye will do next, most agree that he’s only going in one direction – further down.
