Hear Ye: Kanye West to Buy Parler in Bid to Become ‘Uncancelable’
Apparently a new shopping trend is taking flight in the billionaire’s club, as yet another mogul scoops up a social media platform.
Ye, aka Kanye West, lit up the web on Monday after conservative social media app Parler revealed that it had agreed “in principle” to the celebrity’s bid to buy the platform. The news came on the heels of Ye’s suspension from social networks Instagram and Twitter last week over anti-Semitic remarks posted on the platforms.
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Unlike the twists and turns in Twitter and Elon Musk’s hot- and cold-running acquisition — which at the present time appears to be hot again — the Parler purchase appears fairly straightforward. According to a statement from the newly reorganized parent company, Parlement Technologies, the acquisition will move swiftly, concluding before the end of the year.
Neither party disclosed the terms of the deal, including financials like sale price, and they haven’t yet entered into a definitive purchase agreement, so anything can happen between now and then. But if things progress as expected, West will become the official owner of the platform sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Ye has become the richest Black man in history through music and apparel and is taking a bold stance against his recent censorship from Big Tech, using his far-reaching talents to further lead the fight to create a truly non-cancelable environment,” the Parler statement said.
In the proposed arrangement, Parlement would continue to provide ongoing technical support and use of the company’s private cloud and data center infrastructure. That’s critical, since Amazon Web Services pulled support in 2021.
The same year, Apple and Google removed the app from their application stores citing its failure to violent police rhetoric from its users, in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots in Washington, D.C. Months later, after negotiating with Apple, Parler returned to the iOS App Store. Google Play followed suit last month.
September turned out to be a pivotal month for Parler. The company revealed its $16 million Series B — bringing the total funds raised to $56 million; its own acquisition of Irvine, California-based private cloud company Dynascale, and its intent to provide infrastructure for other “free speech” platforms under the new banner of Parlement Technologies.
West and Parlement Technologies chief executive officer George Farmer reinforced the free speech theme in prepared remarks. “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” the controversial celebrity said.
This deal, the CEO added, will “change the way the world thinks about free speech.”
This latest revelation plunges West once more into the headlines after a recent barrage of coverage — particularly after Paris Fashion Week, where Yeezy’s “White Lives Matter” T-shirts triggered outrage. The Parler CEO told reporters that negotiations with the rap star began after fashion week.
Around then, the celebrity got into hot water with Instagram and Twitter over anti-Semitic remarks, including against Sean “Diddy” Combs. Both sites suspended his accounts.
West’s bid to become “uncancelable” — as Farmer described users of the right-wing platform — resembles his friend Musk’s $44 billion Twitter gambit. Both champion the cause of free speech and are putting their money where their mouths are. Parler’s price tag is surely significantly smaller, of course. Twitter boasts 238 million daily active users, while Apptopia estimates that daily active Parler users number only 40,000 or so.
But that doesn’t mean it’s a bargain.
