Kanye West has had controversy after controversy over the past few months — and his latest comments might just be his most horrific yet…
As he has finally spoken out about that Balenciaga campaign.
Read on for the full story.
Kanye is without a doubt one of music’s more controversial celebrities…
From his divorce from Kim to the 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.
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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 4 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 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 reportedly 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.
But there was some hope for Kanye…
And it was all because of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter…
Kanye’s account was reinstated.
But as soon as he returned to the platform, the rapper began posting highly controversial tweets once more…
He immediately wrote: “Testing Testing Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked.”
Then followed it up 5 hours later with the traditional Hebrew greeting, “Shalom”, which landed the star in controversy, as it was his antisemitic comments which resulted in his previous ban.
Kanye also revealed he’s selling products from the companies that cut ties with him.
In a video published by celebrity news site X17, Kanye gave a tour of his Los Angeles office where ten employees can be seen sitting behind sewing machines. As per reports, hundreds of garments were hung on racks throughout the workshop, or laid out on tables and spread across the floor.
But it also included many of the pieces labeled with “Ye24,” signaling Kanye’s 2024 presidential campaign.
”So what we do here is, I’ve cut up 100 hoodies. From Yeezy, from Balenciaga, from stuff we did with Gap, from stuff we did with Adidas, and everything we do is gonna cost $20,” said Kanye.
He continued: “We need to make sure that everyone can receive the same level of cut, the same level of food, same level of water and the same level of education.
“We’re beings with engineering opportunities. We’re getting past the past. We’re focused on the future.”
The hoodies were reportedly left over from before the companies cut ties with Kanye after his antisemitic comments.
Then, Page Six reported that court papers show that the star “did not appear” for the pair’s deposition.
The November 16 meeting was rescheduled for November 29, but if he fails to show again then a judge will hear if Kanye is to “be permitted to offer any testimony, oral or written,” the documents show.
The couple’s trial date is set for December 14, so they have until then to “at least limit the issues” or sort them out.
They are currently still in settlement negotiations.
However, former employees of the rapper then made interesting revelations.
Rolling Stone published a report that reveals the types of “intimidation tactic” the star used on former members of staff.
The allegations include claims from one young employee that the star showed him an explicit picture of Kim during a job interview in 2018.
“My wife just sent me this,” he reportedly said as he then showed him a “very revealing and personal” photo on his phone.
At least one other ex-member of staff has alleged Kanye shared explicit videos of Kim.
A third person confirmed that Kanye was “not afraid to show explicit images or talk about situations that should be kept private” when asked about the matter.
The allegations come in the wake of a film in which Kanye could be seen showing Adidas executives p*rn.
Rolling Stone revealed that Adidas has announced they’re investigating the claims.
Kanye has recently been hit with yet more controversy.
On Alex Jones’s Infowars podcast, Kanye said Nazis did “good things too.”
He told Jones: “I love everyone, and Jewish people are not gonna tell me… ‘You can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the p*rnography.’
“But this guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician—you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that.
“I’m done with the classifications, every human being has something of value that they brought to the table.”
Kanye ended with: “Especially Hitler.”
Many have taken to social media with a simple message: enough is enough.
“I don’t know if @Spotify will take Kanye West off their platform, but if you as a consumer want to make a choice you can block his music. There is nothing good about Hitler and I don’t want to listen to music from someone that is willing to say they like him,” wrote one person.
Another added: “It’s time to pull Kanye West’s music. He’s expressed his views, it’s time to express yours. Enough is enough.”
And now, Kanye has spoken out about the controversial Balenciaga campaign.
For those who missed it, Balenciaga has been under fire for a really bizarre ad campaign.
It featured images of children with teddy bears in bondage gear.
“I stand by Balenciaga and denounce all witch hunts and I cancel cancel culture Jesus is King Ending trafficking doesn’t start or end with a fashion campaign for Christ Sake,” he wrote on Twitter before his account got suspended.
“Never turn our backs Demna and the Balenciaga family for life Cancel cancel culture Jesus please heal.”
Where do you stand on the issue?