Kanye West’s Antisemitic Comments Just Cost Him His Billionaire Status: All the Brands That Have Dropped Him
Kanye West is finally receiving severe backlash for the dangerous comments he’s made. Over the years, the rapper had made heinous statements like “slavery was a choice” and aligned himself with the sentiments of White supremacists. However, his most recent antisemitic comments seem to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. And this time, West is being hit where it really hurts…his pockets. Thanks to his hateful remarks, the “Jesus Walks” performer has been dropped by Adidas and a number of other brands, causing his net worth to plummet.
Kanye West is no longer a billionaire, what is his new net worth?
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, was once estimated to have a net worth of a staggering $2 billion. A big boon to his net worth was, of course, his partnership with Adidas. Since 2013, the father of four has partnered with the wildly successful brand for his Yeezy line. According to investment bank Cowen, as reported by Forbes, the successful partnership was responsible for $1.5 billion of West’s net worth. But, now that Adidas has severed ties with the rapper, his net worth has plummeted. Forbes now estimates that the rapper is worth $400 million.
Adidas is the latest brand to sever ties with Ye
Being dropped by Adidas likely comes as a surprise to Ye. While on the Drink Champs podcast, he bragged that the German multinational corporation would never sever ties with him. “The thing about it being Adidas is like, I can say antisemitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me,” Ye boasted. “Now what. Now what,” he continued antagonistically.
But it seems as if Ye was, once again, loud and wrong. On October 25, Adidas published a press release that revealed that they were immediately terminating their partnership with West due to his antisemitic remarks. “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies,” an excerpt of the statement reads. “Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
What other brands have dropped the rapper?
Adidas is hardly the first company to sever ties with West. Following his hate speech, Balenciaga and Gap also dissolved their partnerships with Ye. But the repercussions for the rapper’s actions don’t stop there. Vogue and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, have also cut ties with West. The Yeezus artist has also been dropped by his lawyer and his talent agency, CAA. Streams of his music, his music sales, and radio play of his tunes have also nosedived.
Kanye West has been restricted on Instagram and Twitter also
But the consequences of West’s actions certainly don’t begin and end with his plummeting net worth. To stop him from spreading more antisemitic remarks, his platforms are also being limited. He has been restricted from both Instagram and Twitter. His upcoming stadium shows were also canceled. Furthermore, his documentary, Jeen-Yuhs, has been shelved. It seems that companies are finally making it clear to Ye that free speech doesn’t absolve you from facing consequences. To that, we say, better late than never.
