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27th Oct 2022

Kanye West says he lost $2 billion in one day after companies cut ties with him

Charlie Herbert

A number of companies are halting their business with Ye

Kanye West has claimed he has lost $2 billion dollars in one day as companies continue to cut ties with him.

The rapper caused outrage when he made antisemitic comments on social media and said he was going to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.

This prompted a number of companies to cut ties with him, most prominently Adidas.

The company terminated its deal with Ye “with immediate effect” saying it does not “tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech”.

Adidas said Ye’s recent actions had been “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous”.

It is estimated that this caused Ye’s net worth to drop by $1.5bn, and lead to the hitmaker losing his billionaire status.

He has now claimed that he has lost “2 billion dollars in one day.”

In a post on Instagram captioned ‘Love Speech’, West wrote: “Ari Emanuel. I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkNSOL6uFUv/

Emanuel is the CEO of Endeavor, a holding company for talent and media agencies, and recently he urged companies to stop doing business with West.

In a Financial Times op-ed, the CEO said fashion and entertainment brands that have collaborated with West on various projects need to ‘speak out and take action’.

As well as his letter to Emanuel, West shared a meme which included two pictures of himself and read: “Ye has reportedly cut ties with Kanye West.”

In an apparent reference to the various businesses that have ended their relationships with him, West added: “Had to cut ties bro.”

On Wednesday, a day after Adidas dropped Ye, he turned up at Skechers LA office “unannounced and without invitation” and was escorted from the premises.

In a statement, the company said two Skechers executives “escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation”.

Skechers made clear in its statement that the company “is not considering and has no intention of working with West”.

“We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech. The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices,” the statement concluded.

On Tuesday, Foot Locker and Gap said they would immediately remove products from Ye’s Yeezy line from their stores, saying they do not tolerate antisemitism.

In a statement GAP said: “Anti-Semitism, 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 organisations that combat hate and discrimination.”

Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) also now dropped Ye, and Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez ditched him as a client.

Last week, the French multinational corporation specialising in luxury goods, Kering, officially announced that Balenciaga had split ways with Ye stating, “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”

Madame Tussauds has also removed Ye’s wax work from public view.

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