Kanye West’s private school is shutting its doors, after the school’s principal emailed the parents of pupils revealing the news.
Kanye set up Donda Academy in Simi Valley, California this year.
The school takes its name from the star’s late mother, who passed away in 2007 aged fifty-eight.
The unaccredited Christian school has garnered a lot of attention since Kanye founded it.
With parents being required to sign non-disclosure agreements, the institution is somewhat shrouded in mystery.
But now, it has been reported that “Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately.”
Read on for more details.
Kanye West is without a doubt one of music’s more controversial celebrities…
From his divorce from Kim Kardashian to the recent Paris Fashion Week debacle, the star is no stranger to scandal.
These days it seems to come part and parcel with the bestselling artist…
It’s easy to forget Kanye’s impact on the music industry amid all the debate around him.
The forty-five-year-old is one of the world’s leading hip hop artists.
Since his 2004 debut album The College Dropout, the star has been met with both critical and commercial success in the charts.
He has won a whopping twenty-four Grammy Awards and sold over 160 million records.
Kanye is also known for working prolifically with a range of artists across the genre, including big-name stars such as Jay Z and Kid Cudi.
However, for lots of us, that’s not where we know Kanye from…
His outspoken views have found him hitting headlines for all sorts of controversies over the past few years.
And none of this has been helped by his high-profile divorce from Kim Kardashian.
The pair wed back in 2014, and share 4 children together.
The former power couple’s divorce has not been smooth sailing, with the pair getting involved in public spats.
Kim’s opening speech from Saturday Night Live in October 2021 gives you a taste of its savage nature: “I married the best rapper of all time … a talented, legit genius, who gave me four incredible kids.
“So when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing: his personality.”
It’s reported that after hearing this, Kanye stormed out of the audience… Yikes!
Kim’s appearance on the show also led to a relationship blossoming between the reality star and SNL cast member Pete Davidson.
And, well, things only got worse from there on out…
By the start of this year, Kanye was dating model Julia Fox.
The pair were extremely public about their slightly chaotic yet short-lived relationship.
And by midway through January things really started to heat up, with Kanye accusing Kim of not inviting him to their daughter’s birthday party.
The news about Chicago’s birthday took fans by surprise, who had assumed the pair’s co-parenting had been going to plan.
Kanye then went on to continue publicly accusing Kim of various parenting problems.
He told Hollywood Unlocked that the Kardashian was refusing to let him see his children – claims which Kim’s team denied.
Then, Kanye came for Pete, releasing a song titled ‘Eazy’, where the rapper threatened to “beat [his] ass.”
Kim hit back, sharing a statement on her Instagram that said: “Kanye’s obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all.”
Despite this, Kanye continued to publicly proclaim his love for Kim, and his distaste for Pete, who he began to nickname ‘Skete’.
This came to a head in April this year, when Page Six reported that Kanye, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, told Kim that “he’s going away to get help.”
In the wake of all this, in March this year both Kim and Kanye were declared legally single.
The pair remained married, but Kanye reportedly told his lawyers to speed up the divorce process.
Things were pretty quiet until the summer, other than Kim’s and Kanye’s lawyers fighting it out.
Aside from the fact that Kim split with Pete in August, to Kanye’s delight.
However, by September, Kanye was at it again with the chaotic Instagram posts.
The star continued to share private messages from Kim.
In the posts, Kanye shared his frustrations about the lack of “control” he has over his children’s education.
The musician also critiqued Kris Jenner’s rule over the family and how she “made” her daughters do Playboy shoots, saying he’s “not gonna let it happen to Northy and Chicago.”
However, Kanye’s controversy spreads further than to just his family…
Recently, the star’s influence in the fashion world has been called into question too.
Yeezy, the star’s fashion brand, was recently shrouded in controversy after a shirt branding the words “WHITE LIVES MATTER” turned up on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week.
Kanye himself along with right-wing commentator Candace Owens donned the questionable item of clothing.
Following the show, he supposedly posted: “Everyone know that Black Lives Matter was a scam now it’s over you’re welcome.”
The Instagram story was quickly deleted from his account.
After the backlash from the Yeezy show, Kanye appeared to fall into a bit of a spiral.
The star began to share antisemitic conspiracy theories on Instagram, including a suggestion that fellow rapper Diddy was being controlled by Jewish people.
His Instagram account was subsequently suspended.
As a result, the Atlanta native became active again on Twitter…
Kanye continued to post antisemitic comments, which resulted in his Twitter account also being banned.
Many famous voices have chimed into the conversation to condemn Kanye, with musician John Legend tweeting: “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.”
Brands across the world have been quick to cut ties with the star.
Notably, Vogue and Balenciaga have said they won’t work with Kanye again.
However, by far the biggest loss for Kanye is Adidas, who have ended their Yeezy partnership, saying the brand “does not tolerate antisemitism.”
Forbes reports that the move has slashed the rapper’s net worth from an estimated $2 billion to $400 million.
And it appears things are just getting worse and worse for the star, with his Donda Academy set to close with immediate effect.
TMZ reports that principal Jason Angell has emailed parents of students confirming the news.
“We would like to express our gratitude for the community of families and scholars that Donda Academy brought together,” the email began.
“However, at the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately.”
The closure comes after Jewish educator Tamar Andrews resigned from the school earlier this month.
“Dr. Andrews immediately resigned from Donda Academy following Ye West’s tweet,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter.
“We intend to begin afresh in September of 2023,” the email also said.
The school reportedly costs $15,000 a year to attend, although it is estimated around half of the students are on scholarships funded by Kanye and his friends.
Students at the school wore uniforms designed by Balenciaga as well as Yeezy, Kanye’s own line.
What do you think?