Ye Will No Longer Acquire Conservative Social Media Platform Parler
Kanye West, or Ye, will no longer purchase conservative social media platform Parler.
Parlement Technologies, the platform’s parent company, announced on Twitter that “the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler. The decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November.”
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In October, Parlement Technologies announced that Ye would acquire the platform and said the proposed acquisition would “assure Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.” The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal came shortly after Ye was suspended on Instagram and Twitter after posting antisemitic statements in recent weeks.
Ye was eventually reinstated on Twitter. And on Thursday, he went viral for more antisemitic comments made during an interview with InfoWars and host Alex Jones. During the interview, Ye made comments such as “I like Hitler” and “I love Jewish people but I also love Nazis.”
Clips of the interview went viral on Twitter throughout Thursday and sparked outrage from users. Parler did not offer a reason as to the termination of the deal, which was announced on Thursday afternoon, but said it will “continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community” in a statement.
In September, the social media platform secured $16 million in Series B funding, for a total of $56 million in funding to date. According to Parler at the time, the new capital will fuel its “vision to leapfrog the industry” by building the “world’s premier free speech technology infrastructure and platform.”
Following last month’s round of financing, Parler acquired Irvine, Calif.-based private cloud company Dynascale Inc. After this acquisition, Parler restructured into Parlement Technologies, Inc., with Dynascale Inc. anchoring its infrastructure division and Parler leading its social media division. This move was seen as a way to reduce its dependence on technologies from other firms.
Other corporate entities have made moves to distance themselves from Ye in recent weeks. Adidas, which cut ties Ye’s Yeezy brand in October, confirmed last week it is investigating claims made in an anonymous letter from staff which alleged that senior executives at the company ignored years of abusive behavior by rapper and former collaborator Kanye West. Balenciaga also ended its relationship with Ye and retailers such as Foot Locker said they would stop selling Yeezy products.
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