As we know, Kanye West has been dropped by major companies recently because of his antisemitic remarks on social media…
But it seems Spotify is still backing the rapper.
Spotify’s CEO has recently explained why they won’t be dropping their partnership with him.
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.
Keep scrolling to see all the companies that have dropped Kanye…
Adidas…
By far the biggest loss for Kanye is Adidas, who have ended their Yeezy partnership “adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the press release said.
Adidas called his comments “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous” and a violation of the “company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Gap…
The partnership ended in September after Kanye said the company didn’t fulfill its contractual obligations, the website remained active until its deactivation on October 25, hours after Adidas cut ties with Kanye.
“In September, Gap announced ending its Yeezy Gap partnership,” the company stated.
“Our former partner’s recent remarks and behavior further underscore why. We are taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap products from our stores and we have shut down YeezyGap.com.”
“Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values.
“On behalf of our customers, employees and shareholders, we are partnering with organizations that combat hate and discrimination,” the statement concluded.
Balenciaga…
Parent company Kering told Women’s Wear Daily this month that Balenciaga no longer wants any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to Kanye.
Def Jam Records…
In 2021, Def Jam’s partnership with the GOOD Music label venture and Kanye’s merchandise agreement with Bravado all ended too.
The label’s parent company said in a statement this week that: “There is no place for antisemitism in our society. We are deeply committed to combating antisemitism and every other form of prejudice.”
And the list continues…
MRC Entertainment…
The company behind a finished Kanye West documentary scrapped the project on October 24. They said it “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”
The statement said Kanye is “a producer and sampler of music” who “sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3000 years the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain,” before making it clear that MRC supports both Palestine and Israel’s right to exist.
And it’s not just companies in music industry who have dropped the rapper…
Vogue…
A spokesperson told Page Six recently that Vogue magazine and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, will no longer work with the rapper.
This comes after West bullied global fashion editor Gabriella Karefa Johnson online during Paris fashion week and publicly mocked her after she criticized the “White Lives Matter” T-shirts worn at the Yeezy show.
“Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor. She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable. Now more than ever, voices like here are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms,” read the statement.
UTA…
According to Vulture, Jeremy Zimmer, CEO and co-founder of the talent agency UTA, asked his staff to “support the boycott of Kanye West.”
The memo, sent to employees was titled “Rise of Anti-Semitism and Hate,” Variety reported.
The rapper was a UTA client for a year before returning to CAA in 2016.
CAA…
Deadline confirmed that the rapper’s own agency, CAA, made the decision to cut ties with him.
Forbes reports that these moves have slashed Kanye’s net worth.
In fact, it’s believed his scandals have now cost the rapper $1.2 billion, the Daily Mail reports.
Which has officially stripped Kanye of his billionaire status.
Although Kanye has been dropped by several companies, there’s one that is still standing by the rapper…
Spotify.
According to Spotify chief Daniel Ek, his comments are “just awful,” but he has shared that they won’t be dropping his music from the platform.
Ek explained that because his music doesn’t break any of Spotify’s anti-hate policies, they won’t be removing his music.
And that it all comes down to what his record label decides to do, whether they request to remove it from the site or not.
“It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,” Ek said.
Adding, “It’s up to his label if they want to take action or not.”
What do you make of his comments?