Kanye West lost $2 billion in a single day, he said Thursday, as business partners rushed to dump the rapper in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks.
The music and fashion mogul has halted lucrative commercial tie-ups as companies including Adidas and Gap fear comments from workers labeled as hate speech.
“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. That’s a speech of love,” West, also known as Ye, wrote in an Instagram post that a It was liked over a million times.
“I still love you. God still loves you. Money is not who I am. People are who I am.” The post cited the CEO of entertainment company Endeavor, Emanuel Arie, as having called for the companies to sever ties. The rapper
German sports equipment giant Adidas said on Tuesday it was ending its partnership with West after his “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous” comments.
Adidas also said it would end production of the highly successful “Yeezy” line designed in collaboration with West and “stop all payments to Ye and his companies”.
The move is expected to shave a quarter of a billion dollars from Adidas’ bottom line this year alone.
West, who has been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, has long been outspoken, half-heartedly running for US president in 2020 and then throwing his weight behind Donald Trump.
His willingness to go beyond yellow is a double-edged sword for business partners, who have benefited from his high profile and frequent media appearances, but who risk being tarnished by association. have
After he contested previous comments, including when West called slavery a “choice,” things began to unravel with his appearance at a Paris fashion show this month wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt. had happened, the slogan was coined as a response to Black Lives Matter. Motion of matter.
A few days later he was temporarily banned from Twitter and Instagram for threatening “Death to the Jewish People 3” using a misspelling of a US military draft.
This sparked alarm, apparently from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, who wrote on social media that “hate speech is never okay or excusable,” in posts that included West’s name. was not taken.
A banner reading “Kenny is right about the Jews” and “Hank if you know” was hoisted on a busy Los Angeles highway last weekend. Many people were posing for pictures with the “Heil Hitler” salute.
Took Out
Adidas’ announcement was followed hours after by US company Gap, which said it was taking “immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores” in addition to closing YeezyGap.com.
Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended its relationship with the rapper last week, saying it “no longer has any ties to, nor plans for future projects with, the artist”.
CAA, one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, said it was leaving West, while film and TV producer MRC said it would shelve a pre-made documentary about the artist. doing.
On Wednesday, West was escorted out of the corporate offices of shoemaker Skechers in Los Angeles after appearing uninvited with a film crew, the firm said.
