MYou can hardly make more enemies than Ye. The rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, first railed against Taylor Swift, interrupting her acceptance speech at MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards and recording phone conversations with the singer.
Two years ago came tirades against his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, her long-distance lover Pete Davidson, and anyone who went by the Kardashian name or anything to do with the far-flung Californian clan of reality actresses (“The Kardashians”), entrepreneurs (“Skims,” Kylie Cosmetics, Lemme) or models (Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner). In the past few weeks, Ye has stepped up again.
“What Kanye West is doing is irresponsible”
In early October, the singer/preacher/casual politician/designer sent models down the runway at Paris Fashion Week wearing white T-shirts with the controversial slogan “White Lives Matter” in the United States as a right-wing response to the “Black Lives Matter” decried, sported. The fact that Ye, the son of an African-American professor, was holding hands with Candace Owens, also African-American and Trump supporter, completed the shitstorm on social media. “What Kanye West is doing isn’t just intellectually dishonest. It’s also irresponsible and could be dangerous,” warned Nigerian-American commentator Wendy Osefo on Instagram.
Ye at a basketball game. Fashion brands stopped working with him after anti-Semitic statements.
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Image: AP
While most celebrities would have withdrawn at this point at the latest, considering reputation and market value, Ye started the next affront. The African American George Floyd, whose death under the knee of a white police officer who has since been convicted of murder in the early summer of 2020 from Minneapolis (Minnesota) fueled the Black Lives Matter movement, the rapper sounded a few days ago that he was responsible for his own fate. Floyd provoked his death by overdosing on the opioid fentanyl. The relatives of the deceased bouncer didn’t just stop at a digital outcry. They are now said to be preparing a $250 million lawsuit against Ye.
Meanwhile, the rapper, who suffers from bipolar disorder, continues to lash out. After the first attacks against “Jewish people” who allegedly put Sean “Diddy” Combs on him, accusations against a “secret Jewish mafia in the media” and the threat of “death con 3” – probably the increased operational level of the American Business partners, Jewish organizations and politicians are now accusing him of anti-Semitism to prepare military Defcon 3 against Jews. Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass, who wants to be the next mayor of Los Angeles, tweeted Monday that Ye’s “hate campaign” should end.
“The company’s move was overdue”
Her party colleague and Senator Scott Weiner, who is also a member of the Jewish committee of the legislature in California, spoke out publicly against the rapper – and supported the request of Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to the German sporting goods manufacturer Adidas, the to stop cooperation with Ye.
On Tuesday, the time had finally come: Adidas announced that it would discontinue the joint “Yeezy” product line. This was also welcomed in Germany by the Central Council of Jews. “The company’s step was overdue,” said Central Council President Josef Schuster on Tuesday in Berlin. For weeks, Kanye West caused a stir with anti-Semitic statements. “The daily new derailments were unbearable for Jews in Germany and all over the world.” Adidas had described the artist’s statements as unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and ended its partnership with him. Schuster, however, complained that the company had remained silent for a long time.
Earlier in Los Angeles, commentator Osefo’s fears about the pull effect of Yes’s slogans came true. Over the weekend, a group of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists unfurled a banner reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” at a bridge over the busy 405 freeway. In addition to celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon and Yes’s former wife Kardashian, the White House also reported. “After years of hatred and division, the President of the United States ran for election to heal the soul of the country. As part of the healing process, we must condemn antisemitism as soon as it arises,” tweeted Joe Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre.
Meanwhile, it’s getting lonely around Ye. Even before the separation from Adidas, the fashion label Balenciaga and the magazine “Vogue” had terminated their friendship with the forty-five-year-old. Since last week, Ye has also had to do without an artist agency. The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) fired the Grammy-winning artist, who made billionaire credits with tracks like Black Skinhead, Closed On Sunday and Famous, for his tirades. The heads of the agencies WME and UTA have also called for a boycott of the rapper in the past few days. Rolling Stone magazine has now attributed the singer’s crash to a mixture of egocentricity and ruthlessness. “Kanye loves the sound of his own voice more than anything else,” the music magazine summarized. “It doesn’t matter who he hurts with it.”
