Kanye

Antisemitic comments from US rapper has led to further industry backlash, as film is dropped and major talent agency CAA cuts ties.

[severed tied with West](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/kanye-wests-biggest-high-fashion-connection-has-cut-ties) following an appearance last week on the Drink Champs podcast. West then told the Drink Champs podcast: “I can literally say antisemitic shit, and they can’t drop me … Floyd’s daughter Roxie Washington has since [filed a $250m lawsuit](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/18/kanye-west-george-floyd-family-sues-drug-abuse-fentanyl-overdose) against West for defamation. I can say antisemitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Please support the boycott of Kanye West,” Zimmer wrote in a company-wide email. In a story posted to her Instagram, Kardashian wrote that hate speech is “never OK” or “excusable.” [condemned](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/us/los-angeles-demonstrators-kanye-west-antisemitic-remarks/index.html) demonstrations in support of West’s antisemitic comments, in which a small group of people made the Nazi salute by a freeway and held signs encouraging drivers to “honk if you know” alongside “Kanye is right about the Jews”. [mounted on sportswear company Adidas](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/pressure-mounts-on-adidas-to-cut-ties-with-kanye-west) to also separate from West, which had already put their business relationship with West [“under review”](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/business/kanye-west-adidas-partnership-review) following his [appearance in a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/04/kanye-west-white-lives-matter-t-shirt-paris-fashion-week) during Paris fashion seek. Twitter removed the posts and suspended West’s account. [Andscape](https://andscape.com/features/exclusive-the-shop-pulls-episode-featuring-kanye-west/). Agency heads Ari Emanuel of Endeavor, Bob Gersh and UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer have all called for Hollywood companies to sever working relationships with West. [wrote in a statement](https://deadline.com/2022/10/kanye-west-documentary-scrapped-by-mrc-amid-anti-semitic-statements-company-leaders-speak-out-1235153382/#recipient_hashed=58e80303eb86ef6e1590496f3313a95182cb7e47e4431739bdb854b95b0768c7&recipient_salt=7e749829dd8fdacaf3affd4f51643a323740a6b6883a45b85c04133fdf95e512) on Monday.

The antisemitic outbursts and provocations by the artist now known as Ye have raised questions about how much offensive behavior companies are willing to ...

His remarks prompted outrage from the Floyd family and [an apology from the show’s host, N.O.R.E](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/entertainment/nore-kanye-west-george-floyd/index.html). Owens accompanied him to an interview with [TMZ Live](https://www.tmz.com/2018/05/01/kanye-west-tmz-live-slavery-trump/) the following month in which he called American slavery a “choice,” spurring outrage. [“The Life of Pablo,”](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/arts/music/kanye-west-life-of-pablo-review.html) was his latest No. While his Season 4 show on Roosevelt Island in September 2016 [proved a debacle](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/fashion/kanye-west-fashion-week-season-4.html), his potent combination of reality-TV celebrity, music stardom, sneaker success and establishment disruption was impossible to resist for an industry that often felt stuck in the last century. [pictures](https://www.balenciaga.com/en-us/summer-23) and [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh_1K9s6UV0) of the show. Trump](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/arts/music/kanye-west-trump-conservatives.html); launched a quixotic campaign [for president](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/politics/kanye-west-president-2020.html) in 2020; and [split with Ms. Lawyers for Ye argued that Gap broke “contractual obligations.” Gap said it was “deciding to wind down the partnership.” Ye has suggested that he may open his own line of retail shops. [“Donda,”](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/arts/music/kanye-west-donda.html) he included industry pariahs like Marilyn Manson, who had been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, and DaBaby, who had made [homophobic remarks](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/01/arts/music/dababy-lollapalooza-canceled-homophobic-comments.html) and waffled about apologies. Abrams, the Anti-Defamation League’s regional director there, [released a statement](https://twitter.com/ADLSoCal/status/1584275380789051392?s=20&t=D9wkjsHUVjsVYBOzwojNIg) that concluded, “Decisive action against antisemitism by Adidas is long overdue.” Ye [ended his Yeezy Gap partnership](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/business/kanye-west-yeezy-gap.html) last month, before the latest controversies erupted, but in recent days Gap sent out promotional emails for the Yeezy Gap hoodie. In recent years he has been condemned for saying that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves” and that centuries of slavery had been “ [a choice](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/arts/music/kanye-west-charlamagne-interview-tmz.html)”; polarized fans with his [embrace of right-wing politics and former President Donald J. He [withdrew from headlining this year’s Coachella festival](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/arts/music/kanye-west-coachella-swedish-house-mafia-weeknd.html) just over a week before it began.

In light of his recent antisemitic comments, the studio behind the doc “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”

[Adidas](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/pressure-mounts-on-adidas-to-cut-ties-with-kanye-west)’s deal with the Yeezy line is “ [under review](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/business/kanye-west-adidas-partnership-review)” but has yet to be officially disbanded. [Balenciaga ended its partnership](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/kanye-wests-biggest-high-fashion-connection-has-cut-ties) with West on Friday. [White Lives Matter](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/kanye-west-the-white-lives-matter-gabriella-karefa-johnson)” shirt to Paris Fashion Week and made antisemitic comments in various forums. Oz’s Senate Campaign](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/10/dr-oz-dog-killing-pennsylvania-senate-race?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-101122)? [Marriage Problems](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/tom-brady-gisele-bundchen-10-year-old-marriage-problems-going-on-forever-divorce?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-101122)Are Reportedly “10 Years Old” UTA head Jeremy Zimmer sent a company-wide memo [urging a boycott of West](https://variety.com/2022/music/news/uta-kanye-west-boycott-jeremy-zimmer-letter-staff-1235412225/) on Sunday. They continued, “The silence from leaders and corporations when it comes to Kanye or antisemitism in general is dismaying but not surprising. [Best Horror Movies](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/best-horror-movies?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-101122)to Keep You Up at Night “Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. JPMorgan Chase [reportedly](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/14/kanye-west-bank-jp-morgan-chase-cuts-ties-with-rapper) dropped him prior to the comments and shirt. [Variety](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/kanye-west-documentary-canceled-antisemitic-comments-1235412625/) reports. 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.”

MRC Entertainment also told employees it was shelving a completed documentary on the rapper to avoid amplifying his platform.

Now, pressure is growing for Adidas to do the same after West went on a podcast and said, "The thing about me and Adidas is I can literally say antisemitic shit and they can't drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me. The tweet was removed for violating Twitter's policies. And during a fashion show in October, Ye also sported a "White Lives Matter" shirt alongside conservative pundit Candace Owens. The news was first We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” the memo reportedly stated.

"I can say antisemitic s*** and Adidas cannot drop me," Kanye West said during his now infamous tirade against Jews during the Drink Champs Podcast earlier ...

[Chick-Fil-A](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/22/business/chick-fil-a-gen-z-survey/index.html) is Gen Z’s most popular restaurant, according to the annual Piper Sandler survey of not-quite-16-year olds. [not dead yet](https://www.axios.com/2022/10/24/railroad-worker-possible-strike-sick-leave). (OK, most nights — we believe in a four-day work week around here.) [ Lego’s controversial packaging change](https://www.wsj.com/articles/lego-fanatics-come-apart-over-new-packaging-11666619022?mod=hp_featst_pos5), which makes it difficult for would-be collectors to identify what pieces are inside. [Rishi Sunak’s net worth](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/uk/profile-rishi-sunak-uk-politics-intl-gbr/index.html) is approaching the three comma club. [“What would a nation of sports gamblers look like?](https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-would-a-nation-of-sports-gamblers-look-like)” Jay Caspian Kang examines America’s booming new (old) industry. [ Kat Dennings,](https://twitter.com/OfficialKat/status/1584235920588349440?s=20&t=BgnK8w2vA20mSBazji3fNA) [Josh Gad ](https://twitter.com/joshgad/status/1584228687863349248?s=20&t=BgnK8w2vA20mSBazji3fNA)and [Meg Stalter](https://twitter.com/megstalter/status/1584418689956257792?s=20&t=Jr1lyEQ-02LcYPtBXTcqtg) condemned Adidas for sticking by West. Zuckerberg isn’t wrong, the economy of 2021 is now a distant memory. “Like many other companies in a zero rate world — Meta has drifted into the land of excess — too many people, too many ideas, too little urgency,” Gerstner wrote. — made his 2021 strategic shift possible in a way that might not have worked in 2022. “We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period.” Now the scrutiny has shifted to the German sportswear giant and its long-standing partnership with the controversial artist.