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American rapper Kanye West says he lost $2bn over anti-semitic rants

American rapper Kanye West says he lost $2bn over anti-semitic rants

“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech,” West, who is also known as Ye, wrote on Instagram.
28 Oct, 2022

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 outbursts.

The music and fashion mogul has seen lucrative commercial tie-ups shelved as companies including Adidas and Gap took fright at comments dubbed hate speech by activists.

“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech,” West, who is also known as Ye, wrote on Instagram in a post that had been liked over a million times.

“I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am,” the post said, naming Emanuel Ari, the CEO of entertainment company Endeavor, who had urged companies to sever ties with the rapper.

German sportswear giant Adidas said 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 together with West and “stop all payments to Ye and his companies”.

The move is expected to lop around a quarter of a billion dollars off Adidas’s bottom line this year alone.

West, who is open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, has long been outspoken, having half-heartedly run for US president in 2020 and then thrown his weight behind Donald Trump.

His willingness to go beyond the pale is a double-edged sword for business partners, who have benefited from his high profile and his frequent media appearances, but who risk being tarnished by association.

While they weathered previous comments, including when West called slavery a “choice”, things began to unravel this month with his appearance at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned “White Lives Matter”, a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Days later he was temporarily locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”, using a misspelled reference to US military readiness.

That sparked alarm, including apparently from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, who wrote on social media “Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” in posts that did not name West.

Last weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “Honk if you know.” Several people were photographed making “Heil Hitler” salutes.

Escorted out

Adidas’s announcement was followed hours later by US company Gap, which said it was taking “immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores” in addition to shutting down YeezyGap.com.

Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended ties with the rapper last week, saying it “no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist”.

One of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, CAA, said it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist.

On Wednesday, West was escorted out of the corporate offices of shoe company Skechers in Los Angeles after showing up uninvited with a film crew, the firm said.

Comments

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Oct 28, 2022 12:26pm
As you sow, so shall you reap.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Oct 28, 2022 12:27pm
Violence of any type and all types must be shunned by everybody.
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NYS Oct 28, 2022 12:47pm
Lost big bucks in single day "White lives matter"
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Amer Oct 28, 2022 01:02pm
A true Uncle Tom.
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GH hheheh Oct 28, 2022 01:46pm
Don't mess with the jews
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With You Oct 28, 2022 01:55pm
Talking about ''Deep Pockets''' you can't talk about the the chosen people. They can do anything they are above the law. Look at Palestine treatment by the Israeli Nazis for few examples.
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Imran khan (Mardan) KPK Oct 28, 2022 02:28pm
All this only proves Zionist do control the western world’s media , businesses and govts. Ever heard of such outlandish reaction to anti black/Muslim/Latino remarks ?
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gs Oct 28, 2022 03:53pm
Sorry to tell you, you brought it upon yourself. Living n the USA and not realising that it is not the Jews who are to blame. It is indeed the fake Jews who are defaming Judaism very much in common with fake Christians, fake Muslims, fake Buddhists and fake of every relgion . The True Jews are indeed wary of the anitcs of fake Jews. True Jews abide by the sanctity of Judaism and the holy Commandments. Tue Jews lay no fake claim thus lay no caim on Palestine. They do not go to live there where the Europeans have been going to occupy and live since 2100 years. This is the third time. These Europeans prove themselves to be fake Jews by behaving like those who came to this land before. The people behave very much like the Godless Romans who came before and behaved like this. The history of this land is that the European trouble makers will have to leave this and then peace can return as it happened previously twice.
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M. Saeed Oct 28, 2022 07:31pm
Rapper lost 2 billion dollars in a day, what about the loss of those, who paid him billions to promote their stuff?
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Bunny Oct 28, 2022 08:05pm
for the big money you make ,you better be at least a bit more careful with your loose tongue dear .
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JhunJhunwala-Tikkaramgurung Oct 29, 2022 01:49am
What a shame, Ye is down to his last $400 million and who is to blame ? Kim ? No, the public ? No, its Ye himself. If he rants and raves in anti semitic and right wing fashion then his sponsors will be dropping like flies as they have.
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