Ye, the influential musician, tycoon, and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West, has publicly criticised Jewish people on Twitter and Instagram, earning him a suspension from both platforms.
The most significant of the companies to ditch the 45-year-old Grammy winner was Adidas. His lucrative Yeezy line, which made trainers, slider sandals, jackets, and shirts, generated Adidas billions of dollars annually. Following Adidas’s departure, Forbes announced Kanye West was no longer a billionaire.
Many companies pulled out of business deals after a viral moment in Los Angeles on Saturday, where demonstrators hung a banner on an overpass that read: “Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews.”
In a nutshell first, here’s the full list. You can then continue reading for further details.
– Concert at Sofi Stadium cancelled
– Fox News documentary scrapped
– Banned from Fox News
– Interview on The Shop cancelled
– Drink Champs interview deleted
– Banned by JP Morgan Chase
– Boycotted by WME
– Deal with Balenciaga terminated
– Boycotted by Vogue Magazine
– Dropped by CAA talent agent
– MRC documentary scrapped
– Boycotted by UTA
– Disavowed by ex-wife and family
– Banned from Daily Wire
– $1.5 billion Adidas deal terminated
– $1 billion Gap deal terminated
– Boycotted by Foot Locker
– Disaffiliated from Def Jam
– Assistant and lawyer resign
– Wax figure removed from museum
– Banned from KANO STEM player
– Banned from Skechers
West was also suspened by Twitter and Instagram, although appears to have regained access to both his accounts.
Instagram’s ban was always temporary, while his Twitter account came back on the same day that Elon Musk took control of the site.
Adidas
Adidas’s former chief of global brands Eric Liedtke, left, with Kanye West in 2016 © Jonathan Leibson/Adidas/Getty Images
The athletics label cut ties with Ye on Tuesday after pressure to drop him, most notably from Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the ADL.
Really, @adidas? You continue to partner w/ Ye as he spreads vile #antisemitism AND release his product as we approach the anniv. of the deadliest attack on Jewish people in US history. Are you really this ignorant? Or simply indifferent? #RunAwayFromHate https://t.co/UVOQmo9Fda pic.twitter.com/U26JeaVbfq
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 20, 2022
On Tuesday, the company announced it would instantly stop business with Ye.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” according to a statement from the German company.
Without a doubt, @adidas has done the right thing to #RunAwayFromHate by cutting ties with Ye after his vicious antisemitic rants. In the end, Adidas' action sends a powerful message that antisemitism & bigotry have NO place in society. My full statement: https://t.co/5OO15W8ElX pic.twitter.com/r3fAYgOhvP
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 25, 2022
Adidas calculates ending this relationship will cost it 250 million euros (£217 million) in net income this year. An analyst told The Washington Post that his Yeezy line brought in an estimated $2 billion a year, which accounted for nearly 10 per cent of the annual Adidas revenue.
After success with the Yeezy brand in their first two years, Ye and Adidas cemented their alliance in 2016. In its statement, Adidas designated the deal the “most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand.”
The latest furore throws into stark relief these words tweeted by Ye in 2018.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1039261338080399360
Balenciaga
Kanye West attending Paris Fashion Week with a Balenciaga ‘grill’ on his teeth
According to numerous reports, the fashion house stepped away from Ye just before the weekend. He had worked with the French company to create a line for Gap.
Thanks to @Balenciaga for doing the right thing with @kanyewest, who continues to spew antisemitic rhetoric daily. However, they have a corporate responsibility to make clear that they denounce and condemn #antisemitism.
Hey @adidas, btw, wyd?https://t.co/zyVTjIn0Il
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 21, 2022
whynow has approached Balenciaga for comment.
CAA
The principal talent agency Creative Artists Agency ditched Ye on Monday. According to Deadline, Ye has been with CAA since 2016.
Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich
The law firm representing Ye in his divorce from entrepreneur and public figure Kim Kardashian has now separated from him.
“I can confirm we are no longer representing Ye,” attorney Robert Stephan Cohen wrote to The Post on Tuesday.
Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 24, 2022
Gap
According to the Associated Press, Ye moved to separate from the clothing brand in September.
But on Tuesday, Gap took the extra step of announcing that it was ending its Yeezy Gap.
More good news. @Gap, who originally ended its relationship w/ @Kanyewest weeks ago but then kept selling his products, officially shut down its Yeezy line. No more website. No more inventory. Gone. Thank you for showing that #antisemitism is unacceptable. https://t.co/y2mgjUJU4w
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 25, 2022
“Our former partner’s recent remarks and behavior further underscore why. We are taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores,” according to a company statement.
The company also shut down YeezyGap.com — the website now redirects to the brand’s main homepage.
JPMorgan Chase
This month, the bank split from Ye before the most recent backlash against his anti-Semitic remarks.
Conservative activist and Ye supporter Candace Owens tweeted a letter showing the bank telling Ye it was ending its relationship with his Yeezy brand.
Nicole Robbat, head of communications for commercial banking at JPMorgan Chase, declined a request for comment Tuesday. Still, the New York Times said it confirmed the account’s closure.
MRC
The Hollywood financier and producer MRC announced Monday that it was ending its relationship with Ye.
“We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” according to a statement from the company.
It went further: “Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain. … Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era.”
The company also announced that it was “shelving” a recently completed documentary about Ye.
Social media
Twitter and Instagram temporarily locked Ye’s accounts, saying he violated their terms-of-use policies. Both didn’t specify what policies Ye’s posts had broken, but screenshots circulated on social media of anti-Semitic statements.
On Twitter, where Ye has more than 31 million followers, he threatened to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
On Meta-owned Instagram, where Ye has more than 18 million followers, he claimed Jewish people influenced rapper Diddy.
After Instagram banned Ye, he criticised Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, tweeting, “Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off instagram,” along with a photo of the two together in a group.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1578620714000605184?s=20&t=PBooS5QzmRxF8nTainVKTg
Def Jam
The record label has parted ways with arguably its most prominent stars after ten albums. All ten have gone to no.1, but even the financial incentive is not enough to convince Def Jam execs to hold on to Ye.
This also means that Kanye’s GOOD Music Label is no longer a part of Def Jam Recordings.
Foot Locker
Footwear News reported yesterday that Footlocker, the major shoe retailer, was pulling Yeezys from its shelves because Adidas decided to cut ties. Staff have been instructed to keep stores’ Yeezy stock in backrooms, pending further instruction.
The Adidas Yeezy shoes have been popular and have attracted colossal resale value since their launch.
