Rapper Kanye West, who is now known as “Ye,” has had a rough couple of weeks. After he came under fire for making anti-Semitic remarks on a podcast, the onslaught of criticism has been nonstop. Even now, the fallout has not abated and there does not appear to be a light at the end of this tunnel.
Several companies have cut ties with the artist, not wishing to associate themselves with his views on Jewish folks. The Gap has stopped carrying his clothing line. Foot Locker, JPMorgan Chase, TJ Maxx, and several other companies have turned their backs on him.
Even Madame Tussauds waxwork museum has removed his sculpture. “Ye’s figure has been retired from the attraction floor to our archive,” a spokesperson told Sky News. “Each profile earns their place at Madame Tussauds London and we listen to our guests and the public on who they expect to see at the attraction.”
But in what is the most painful blow, German shoe company Adidas has severed its relationship with Ye, meaning that he is no longer a billionaire. Forbes reported:
But Ye’s words put the German athletic wear company, with its own Nazi ties dating back to its founders, in the hot seat. What followed was even more escalating pressure on Adidas to sever ties with Ye, as his string of antisemitic remarks drew condemnation from the top tiers of Hollywood. For weeks, Adidas stayed silent, except to say on October 6 that their partnership with Ye was “under review.”
The report also noted:
The $1.5 billion value of the Adidas deal was calculated off of a multiple of annual earnings. Based on interviews with industry experts, Forbes had viewed the royalties Ye received from Adidas to be similar to royalties from music catalogs or film residuals. The Adidas income stream could be sold off, those experts said, just like dozens of musicians (including the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen) have sold off their life’s work over the past two years.
Of course, Ye isn’t exactly making things easier on himself. On Wednesday, he showed up unannounced at Skechers, another prominent shoe company. He was promptly removed from the premises.
“Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech,” the company explained in a written statement. “The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
While this stunt might be humorous, it is not going to help him recover from this seemingly never-ending downward spiral. His remarks seem to be affecting everyone and everything with which he is associated. His school recently announced that it is closing down over the controversy.
In an email to parents, Jason Angell, the principal of Donda Academy, explained that “at the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately.”
The school, which is named after Ye’s mother, is a private institution located in Simi Valley.
The artist’s situation seems quite dire at the moment. But is there a chance that he can bounce back from this?
It all depends on Ye himself.
The issue with West is that he does not communicate as effectively as he should. He makes comments that offend the public, and many times, he has to walk them back later. But laced between his questionable remarks, he often speaks profound truth. Indeed, he drops nuggets that are not palatable to some folks – particularly on the left – who are already upset with him for having supported former President Donald Trump.
During one of the interviews in which he made remarks about Jews, he made other comments that did not become part of the conversation:
I want my people to rise up like the Jewish people. I’m a competitor. I’m jealous of the Jewish community. I’m jealous of the fact of how they don’t abort their babies. I’m jealous of the fact of how they stay with their wives. I’m jealous of the fact of how they do business together. I’m jealous of the fact of how they read their contracts and understand their contracts. I’m jealous of the fact like, I’m jealous of the way Jewish people do business. And I’m jealous not just for me, but for our entire culture. And I believe that once we rise up, that we will have a position to be able to serve God. Because it’s not about taking over the world. God runs the world. We need to be in service to God, and we all need to be in service to God.
The clip they don’t show pic.twitter.com/Pok5SiKYpH
— zzz (@notyouravebo1) October 27, 2022
If West were to keep his message on point like this, he probably would not be in this situation. He essentially allowed progressives to use his meanderings to distract from his actual message. In essence, he did a tremendous favor to those who want more black babies to be aborted and the continued breakdown of the black family. He gave ammo to those who want to see black Americans remain as a permanent underclass for Democrats to exploit.
But one thing that works in West’s favor is the reality that America’s attention span is…well…American. Much of the country will get over his comments as time passes and other issues grab our eyeballs and outrage. If Ye figures out how to “rehabilitate” his image, he will be fine – if he can learn some discipline with how he communicates his message.
