People and Companies That Have Cancelled Kanye West [Updated]
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Updated 10/27/22 at 11:25 a.m. ET
2022 has been the year of Kanye West for all of the wrong reasons. It began when he started making anti-Semitic comments on his social media accounts, and the rapper hasn’t stopped since. As a result, many of his business relationships have been broken to a point where they may never again be repaired.
Read more
Here are all of the people and companies that have canceled Ye—so far.
Skechers
Athletic shoe company Skechers said in a statement Wednesday that two of its executives escorted Ye from one of its Los Angeles buildings. He was said to have “arrived unannounced and without invitation,” and also to be engaged in “unauthorized filming.”
TJ Maxx
This is just the latest retailer to boycott Yeezy merchandise and pull it from store shelves. “At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind. We have instructed our buying teams not to purchase this merchandise for sale in any of our stores globally,” the retailer said in a statement emailed to CNNBusiness Wednesday.
Peloton
Peloton has put all of Kanye’s music on pause in its streaming workout classes, due in large part to his antisemitic comments.
Apple Music
The music service noticeably removed their popular Kanye West Essentials playlist from their rotation, although other music of his can still be found there.
Madame Tussauds
The famed hall of wax figures has apparently removed Kanye’s likeness from the main floor to an archive room.
Gap
In the case of The Gap, Kanye is the one who terminated his relationship with the American clothing retailer. Last month, Kanye’s attorneys sent a letter to Gap notifying them that he was opting out, claiming that they breached their contract by not opening Yeezy brand retail stores.
Balenciaga
The Spanish fashion company severed ties with Ye just weeks after he was seen walking the runway for them during Paris Fashion Week. He had collaborated with the fashion house along with Gap for his popular Yeezy Gap Line earlier this year, but his anti-Semitic comments were more than enough for Balenciaga to end their partnership with him, especially after their third-quarter results were published.
On his return to Instagram late Wednesday night, Ye had this to say: “Ari Emmanuel. I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am.”
This is where Kanye began his anti-Semitic tirade. In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Kanye suggested that Diddy was being controlled by Jewish people saying, “This ain’t a game. Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business.”
This ultimately got Ye suspended from the platform and he hasn’t been able to post since, until yesterday.
After he got suspended from Instagram, he hopped on over to Twitter to continue his anti-Semitic rant. In a wild tweet, he wrote, “I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE .” That tweet alone got him restricted from this popular social media platform.
CAA
The Los Angeles Times reported that CAA, one of Hollywood’s most prominent and powerful talent agencies, announced that they’re done representing Mr. West because of his anti-Semitic tirade.
Vogue
A Vogue spokesperson told Page Six that the magazine and its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour never intend to work with the Chicago rapper again over his anti-Semitic comments and his support of “White Lives Matter.”
MRC
Film and television studio, MRC, announced its plan not to proceed with recently completed documentary on the Donda rapper titled, Ye. They said in a statement, “we cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”
Def Jam Recordings
Ye’s recording contract and G.O.O.D Music label deal with Def Jam Recordings has ended, according to The New York Times. Although, it’s unknown if the expired contract has anything to do with Kanye’s anti-Semitic statements.
Drink Champs
Kanye West appeared on N.O.R.E and DJ EFN’s popular podcast Drink Champs where he continued to spew more hateful speech. During the interview, he even claimed that George Floyd died because of fentanyl, not because an officer had his knee pressed on his neck. The episode was ultimately taken down because of Ye’s behavior. It
Family of George Floyd
KANYE Really Said this About GEORGE FLOYD
As a result of his comments on Drink Champs, Kanye was on the verge of facing a $250 million lawsuit from the mother of the late George Floyd’s daughter. But, according to TMZ, Floyd’s brother is halting legal action against the Chicago rapper.
Jaylen Brown
In a statement, the Boston Celtics star guard shared that he’s terminating his association with Donda Sports, Kanye’s sports agency. He wrote, “...I now recognize that there are times when my voice and my position can’t coexist in spaces that don’t correspond with my stance or my values.”
Aaron Donald
The Los Angeles Rams star defensive player followed Brown’s lead and released a statement of his own saying that he’s parting ways with Donda Sports. He wrote in the statement, “the recent comments and displays of hate antisemitism are the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives…”
The Shop
A recently-recorded episode of The Shop featuring the Chicago rapper was scrapped from being shared with the public because Ye used the show as an opportunity to spew more anti-Semitic speech. In a statement to Andscape, Maverick Carter, one of the creators of the show said, “While The Shop embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions, we have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate.”
Foot Locker
The shoe retailer announced that it will no longer be stocking Yeezy products in its storefronts and will be halting all sales of any products that Kanye was involved in making, according to CNN. In a statement, the shoe retailer said, “Our former partner’s recent remarks and behavior further underscore why we are taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap products from our stores.”
Adidas
The most significant disintegrated partnership that has affected Kanye West is easily his longtime relationship with Adidas. For months, Kanye went at the worldwide shoe company over disagreements he had with them. But after weeks of anti-Semitic comments, Adidas had enough and finally dropped him.
The ending of the partnership was particularly impactful on Ye’s pockets. Forbes estimated that Yeezy’s net worth had been as high as $2 billion, attributing $1.5 billion of that to the value of the Adidas partnership. If that estimate is accurate, it would mean Ye may have lost three-quarters of his net worth in a single day.
More from The Root
Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
