Words have power. And he's learnt this the hard way.
American rapper and fashion designer, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is losing partnerships daily, or so it seems.
This after his controversial outburst, where he declared “Going death con 3 on Jewish people."
The latest big brand to drop him is the footwear retailer, Foot Locker.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the retail’s spokesperson says that, “while he remains a partner with Adidas and carry a wide assortment of their collection – we will not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops, and we have instructed our retail operators to pull any existing products from our shelves and digital sites.”
On the other hand, executives from athletic shoe brand, Skechers had him escorted out of their buildings in Los Angeles after his, "unannounced visit without invitation," CNN reported.
"The company is not considering and has no intention of working with West," Skechers said in a statement.
It is said that Ye had a brief conversation with the shoe brand's executive before he got escorted out of their building.
"We do not tolerate his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate anti-Semitism or any form of hate speech," the company indicated. The reasons behind his visit to Skechers are sketchy, but CNN reports that he was engaged in an "unauthorised filming".
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On Tuesday, 25 October, giant sportswear manufacturer, Adidas, terminated their partnership with Ye after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks.
“Ye’s comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.
“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the German company says in a statement.
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies, Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
This was a move that also scratched off his name from the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, according to the magazine. The end of the partnership meant that the rapper’s net worth shrank to $400 million which is equivalent to R7.3 billion [in South African currency].
On Monday, talent agency CAA dropped the rapper for the same remarks. This means he is no longer signed Def Jam, which is the production company that he was long associated with, The Guardian reports.
“The streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are facing pressure to stop playing Ye’s music,” says the New York Times.
According to The Guardian, a few weeks ago Ye, had his first ever appearance as a catwalk model for the Paris fashion week hosted by Balenciaga, the brand that has also scratched their deal with the rapper.
“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering, Balenciaga’s parent company shared.
“The brand also removed associations with Ye from its website, including a collaboration between Yeezy Gap and the brand.”
However, as corporations around the world break off their deals with the rapper, music streaming service, Spotify said that it would keep Ye’s music unless his label suggests otherwise, the Daily Mail reports.
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“Recent anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper are just awful comments and would have warranted removal from Spotify for violating its policies if they had been on a podcasts or recording,” Spotify chief Daniel Ek tells Daily Mail.
He adds that, “his music does not violate anti-hate policies and any anti-Semitic comments he has made cannot be found on the music streaming platform”.
The rapper on Wednesday issued his first reply to the sportswear manufacturer, Adidas, days after he was dumped, says Daily Mail.
"Alas to Adidas, you can start to make new designs for footwear, apparel and accessories immediately," he says in a screenshotted text message shared on Instagram, to Quinn Emmanuel, which is his previous legal representative firm.
"As to Gap, the non-compete expires December 15, 2022. You own the Yeezy name and all trademarks associated with Yeezy," Ye continued in the text.
