The Real Reason Kanye West Can’t Sell His ‘White Lives Matter’ T-Shirts
Kanye West is making waves for all the wrong reasons. The once-celebrated, Grammy-winning rapper continues to make controversial remarks — some of which lost him lucrative partnerships with Adidas and The Gap.
And to add to his series of woes, West can’t sell his “White Lives Matter” t-shirts. Here’s why.
Kanye West wore a ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt
West first wore his “White Lives Matter” shirt at his YZY SZN 9 show in Paris in early October. The long black-sleeved tee featured the controversial slogan on the back, in bold white letters.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens also appeared with West. She wore a matching white t-shirt sporting the provocative phrase in black letters. Some of the show’s models also wore Yeezy pieces that featured the slogan.
The day after the show, West took to Instagram to double down on his perspective, stating, “Black Lives Matter was a scam.” He wore the shirt to his daughter North West’s game a few days later.
In a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson a few days later, the fashion mogul explained that he found the whole idea humorous. “I thought the shirt was a funny shirt,” West said. “I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.”
The slogan came about as a rebuttal to the Black Lives Matter movement. It is deemed hate speech by the Anti-Defamation League.
Why Kanye West can not sell his ‘White Lives Matter’ t-shirts
West incorporated the “White Lives Matter” slogan into his latest designs. But he can’t legally sell any clothing that features the phrase.
As reported by Capital B News, the copyright for the phrase “White Lives Matter” is owned by Phoenix radio jockeys, Quinton Ward and Ramses Ja. The pair host a show called Civic Cipher. And the trademark was gifted to them by a loyal fan — who owned the phrase for a few weeks — on Oct. 28.
“The way the law works is either you’re owning phrases, or it’s up for grabs for people to make money off them,” Ja said. “This person who first procured it didn’t really love owning it, because the purpose was not necessarily to get rich off of it; the purpose was to make sure that other people didn’t get rich off of that pain.”
Kanye West lost a lot because of his controversial comments
2022 hasn’t been a great year for West. Kim Kardashian — who he married in 2014 and had four children with — filed for divorce in February. He was disinvited from the Grammys in March because he trolled host Trevor Noah. And around the same time, Saturday Night Live banned him for harassing Pete Davidson.
But the most significant bridges burned by West’s comments are undoubtedly his business partnerships. After the rapper made antisemitic comments online, Gap and Foot Locker pulled all Yeezy products out of their catalogs. And Adidas soon followed suit.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” an Adidas press release reads. “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.”
It continues, “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.”
