In the span of two weeks, Kanye West has lost his talent representation, connections to major fashion houses and other lucrative relationships over recent anti-black and anti-Semitic comments.
As sportswear brand Adidas ended its estimated €250 million partnership with West on Tuesday, allegedly costing the black American rapper his billionaire status, many are wondering whether the fashion mogul’s stock fashion and music have ended his decades-long career.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is no stranger to controversy.
Before the latest firestorm, Ye’s actions and comments have been continually met with outrage, with many accusing his partners in fashion and music of coddling offensive behavior.
Since 2016, Ye has faced several allegations. Earlier that year, Ye was criticized for his embrace of right-wing politics, including wearing the famous red “Make America Great Again” hat and publicly supporting former President Donald Trump. Ye announced earlier this year that he would buy the far-right social media app Parler.
While performing on his later canceled Saint Pablo tour in 2016, Ye gave a speech celebrating Trump while criticizing his peers in the music industry such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
Ye was hospitalized later during the tour for a psychiatric emergency. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has spoken out about his illness, although medical experts and advocates warn that his bigotry and mental health struggles are separate issues.
Since then, Ye has made a number of anti-black comments. He once declared slavery a “choice” and said abolitionist Harriet Tubman “never freed the slaves,” sparking further backlash.
More recently, George Floyd’s family announced plans to sue Ye over comments he made that Floyd died from fentanyl when a jury concluded Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers, a killing captured in a mobile video
Several have also called Ye out for his harassment of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, as well as her ex-boyfriend Pete Davidson’s comedian. Ye posted a series of screenshots on his Instagram and made threats against Davidson.
At one point, Ye bragged on social media that Davidson deleted his Instagram account amid growing threats from Ye and his fan base.
It wasn’t the first time Ye was accused of harassing former partners. His ex-girlfriend Amber Rose said Ye bullied her for 10 years after their two-year relationship ended in 2010.
This month, Ye drew widespread criticism for T-shirts she unveiled at Paris Fashion Week that featured the white supremacist slogan “White Lives Matter.” He later donated these shirts to homeless people living in Los Angeles.
Ye also used her Instagram account to publicly insult a Black Vogue fashion editor who called out Ye’s collection, prompting Vogue to issue a statement condemning Ye’s remarks and later pointing out that the magazine will no longer work with him.
Soon after, several outbursts and anti-Semitic comments made by Ye appeared to be the last straw for many, with companies publicly cutting ties with the artist and urging others to do the same. Ye has also been blocked from his social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter.
On Monday, talent agency CAA dropped Ye over his remarks. He is no longer signed to Def Jam, the record label he was associated with for a long time, after his contract expired in 2021. Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music are facing pressure to stop playing the music of Ye, the New York Times reported.
Weeks after Ye walked in Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week show, the brand shared that it had severed ties with him.
“Balenciaga no longer has any relationship or plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering, Balenciaga’s parent company, told Women’s Wear Daily. The brand also removed associations with Ye from its website, including a collaboration between Yeezy Gap and the brand, Insider reported.
Ye publicly shared her displeasure with the Gap brand, announcing in September that she had terminated a partnership agreement with the company. Gap responded that it had taken steps to end its partnership with Ye, announcing on Tuesday that the company “is taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap products from our stores” and shutting down Yeezy Gap’s website .
Not everyone had cut ties with Ye as of Tuesday. Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said in a recent interview that he has no plans to part ways with Ye’s Donda Sports agency, which also represents NFL superstar Aaron Donald.
“The reason I signed with Donda Sports, it represented education, it represented activism, it represented disruption,” Brown said in an interview with the Boston Globe. “It represented single-parent households, and a lot more people are involved in something like that.”
But Ye’s comments and actions seem to have had clear consequences for the artist’s social and financial situation.
Ye was no longer listed on Forbes’ billionaires list as of Tuesday, as a growing number of companies announced they had finished working with the tycoon.