Kanye ‘Ye’ West, the American rapper, has sent an apology to the Jewish community over his anti-Semitic remarks.
In the past few weeks, West has gone on a series of anti-Semitic rants on social media.
On Instagram, the rapper alleged that Jews control Hollywood. This led to his suspension from the platform.
West also took to Twitter to say he was going “death con 3 on the Jewish people” — apparently referring to the military readiness condition. He was also suspended on the microblogging platform.
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His remarks had provoked a chorus of condemnation and mounted public pressure on the companies with whom he has business dealings to sever ties with him.
But in a recent interview, Ye apologised for his “hurting” remarks, saying he considers the Jews as “my brothers.”
“You know why I apologise… why I say I’m sorry to the Jewish people that I hurt. I’m not going to hold this apology hostage. Obviously, it’s about God, but God is everything right so what’s the point of having a language you can’t engineer and you keep saying God, God, God,” he said.
“God asked us to be judgmental because if you are a doctor right, it’s your judgment that saves grandma and God puts that in there. We have God inside us, we are a piece of God. So I’m going to go specifically to a person.
“That story about DaVinci alone is enough reason for me to give a sincere apology to the Jewish people because I do believe that there’s a DaVinci code inside of all of my misspellings and scribbles right here that God wants me to get to the world.
“When I’m in my way, if God has set something on me, I’m in God’s way. I can point at other people and say hey you guys are in God’s way because you guys are not listening to me.
“But if I’m in my way, I’m not listening to God, and for me to be a philosopher and a leader whatever the language, I have to listen to God. So before God, what I would do is start off as a Samurai and say I’m sorry for hurting you.
“As a Jewish person, I’m sorry for the way that I made you feel and I’m sorry to the entire population of a race that I feel is actually my brothers. Because I classify and feel that I’m also connected with Christ in the way that my people came from Africa.”
Adidas recently ended its partnership with the rapper while Skechers, the American shoe company, kicked him out of its office after showing up “unannounced.”
Companies that sever links with West
Adidas: The most significant of the companies to ditch the 45-year-old Grammy winner was Adidas. His lucrative Yeezy line, which made trainers, slider sandals, jackets, and shirts, generated Adidas billions of dollars annually. Following Adidas’s departure, Forbes announced Kanye West was no longer a billionaire.
The athletics label cut ties with Ye on Tuesday after pressure to drop him, most notably from Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the ADL.
On Tuesday, the company announced it would instantly stop business with Ye.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” according to a statement from the German company.
Adidas calculates ending this relationship will cost it 250 million euros (£217 million) in net income this year. An analyst told The Washington Post that his Yeezy line brought in an estimated $2 billion a year, which accounted for nearly 10 per cent of the annual Adidas revenue.
After success with the Yeezy brand in their first two years, Ye and Adidas cemented their alliance in 2016. In its statement, Adidas designated the deal the “most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand.”
The latest furore throws into stark relief these words tweeted by Ye in 2018.
Balenciaga: According to numerous reports, the fashion house stepped away from Ye just before the weekend. He had worked with the French company to create a line for Gap.
CAA: The principal talent agency Creative Artists Agency ditched Ye on Monday. According to Deadline, Ye has been with CAA since 2016.
Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich: The law firm representing Ye in his divorce from entrepreneur and public figure Kim Kardashian has now separated from him.
“I can confirm we are no longer representing Ye,” attorney Robert Stephan Cohen wrote to The Post on Tuesday.
Gap: According to the Associated Press, Ye moved to separate from the clothing brand in September.
But on Tuesday, Gap took the extra step of announcing that it was ending its Yeezy Gap.
“Our former partner’s recent remarks and behavior further underscore why. We are taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores,” according to a company statement.
The company also shut down YeezyGap.com — the website now redirects to the brand’s main homepage.
JPMorgan Chase: This month, the bank split from Ye before the most recent backlash against his anti-Semitic remarks.
Conservative activist and Ye supporter Candace Owens tweeted a letter showing the bank telling Ye it was ending its relationship with his Yeezy brand.
Nicole Robbat, head of communications for commercial banking at JPMorgan Chase, declined a request for comment Tuesday. Still, the New York Times said it confirmed the account’s closure.
MRC: The Hollywood financier and producer MRC announced Monday that it was ending its relationship with Ye.
“We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” according to a statement from the company.
It went further: “Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain. … Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era.”
The company also announced that it was “shelving” a recently completed documentary about Ye.
Social media: Twitter and Instagram temporarily locked Ye’s accounts, saying he violated their terms-of-use policies. Both didn’t specify what policies Ye’s posts had broken, but screenshots circulated on social media of anti-Semitic statements.
On Twitter, where Ye has more than 31 million followers, he threatened to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
On Meta-owned Instagram, where Ye has more than 18 million followers, he claimed Jewish people influenced rapper Diddy.
After Instagram banned Ye, he criticised Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, tweeting, “Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off instagram,” along with a photo of the two together in a group.
Def Jam: The record label has parted ways with arguably its most prominent stars after ten albums. All ten have gone to no.1, but even the financial incentive is not enough to convince Def Jam execs to hold on to Ye.
This also means that Kanye’s GOOD Music Label is no longer a part of Def Jam Recordings.
Foot Locker: Footwear News reported Tuesday that Footlocker, the major shoe retailer, was pulling Yeezys from its shelves because Adidas decided to cut ties. Staff have been instructed to keep stores’ Yeezy stock in backrooms, pending further instruction.
The Adidas Yeezy shoes have been popular and have attracted colossal resale value since their launch.
