After his comments, several of the top brands and sports stars related to American rappers finished their association with him. As a result, Kanye, who has been enjoying the luxury of being a billionaire since 2020, is no longer on the Forbes billionaires list.
On 3rd October, Kanye West held a private show for 100 of his guests at Paris Fashion Week. In the show, he was seen clicked wearing a T-shirt that said: “White Lives Wearing.” This was slammed by many and was said to be racist remarks in reply to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kanye’s Actions lead to his downfall.
On his social media handles, he posted some anti-Semitic remarks on 8th October, which were against the platforms’ policies. In one of the deleted posts, he said, “death con three on JEWISH PEOPLE.” in the same tweet, and he said that they have toyed with him and blackballed anyone who opposes their agendas. On Instagram, he accused Diddy of getting influenced by the Jewish people.
Anti Defamation slammed Kanye by saying that it is dangerous, troubling, and antisemitic. Furthermore, there is no excuse at all for his delivery of slogans and antisemitism against Jews, especially using all the platforms that he has. In conclusion, he was banished from Twitter and restricted from his Facebook account. Hi, ex-wife Kim Kardashian who is among the most followed celeb on Instagram, also shared her views.
She said that hate speech is not excusable, and she stands together with the Jewish community, and the callings on this terrible violence should end immediately. She posted her views on Instagram and Twitter as well, without mentioning Kanye. After a few days, Kanye came on Tucker’s Fox News and made objectionable comments, which were not shown on the channel.
But as per TIME magazine, the unreleased video was later released, and in the footage, Kanye was making objectionable comments on abortion and also passed fat-phobic comments about Lizzo, an American singer-rapper.
In the same interview, he was seen wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt. Kanye said that he thought that the T-shirt was funny and that wearing the t-shirt made it more fun. He was just a black man stating the obvious. He also said that Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, worked out Middle East peace deals to make some extra bucks.
Criticisms from Other Celebrities
Following Kanye’s actions and statements, Goyim Defense League, an anti-Semitic hate group, revealed a banner on a Los Angeles flyover saying Kanye was right about the Jews, and the group also did a Nazi salute. Sarah Silverman uploaded a photo saying, “Let me guess: still not time to get scared.”
Reese Witherspoon tweeted that antisemitism is shockingly bad, online and in person. It is hateful and unacceptable. She understands why Jews are scared about their families and also states that it is a very scary time.
Companies that have ended their association with Kanye
As the situation escalated, many brands associated with the rapper began to cut ties with him.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase ended their deal with Kanye, but as per the reports, the decision to cut Kanye was made before his objectionable comments. According to The New York Times, the bank will continue to maintain the accounts till 21st November, and after that, Kanye has to transfer his accounts to another bank.
Balenciaga and Kering
Balenciaga, a Paris-based fashion brand, and Kering, the parent company, have also decided to end all their deals with him on 21st October. In a statement, Kering said Balenciaga has no relationships and does not plan for any future projects with the rapper.
Adidas suffered a huge loss but ended its deal with Kanye
In between the ongoing tension, Adidas decided to hit a loss of USD 246 million to its income by cutting ties with Ye. A statement was released on 28th October in which the company conducted a deep review of its relationship with Ye and chose to terminate all the payments and also end all the production of Yeezy products immediately.
They also said that they do not tolerate antisemitism or any other hate speeches. Other brands like Donda Sports, GAP, Skechers, MRC, CAA, and Vouge also chose to terminate all their arrangements effective immediately with the rapper.
