Footlocker becomes latest big brand to drop Kanye West merchandise making a dent in his $2BN fortune after his anti-Semitic outburst as Spotify chief Daniel Ek brands his rants ‘awful’ but refuses to pull his music
- Sneaker retailer Foot Locker is latest company to end ties with controversial Ye
- German sportswear giant Adidas ended lucrative deal with the rapper yesterday
- Ye, 45, has been accused of going on several anti-Semitic rants on social media
- The rapper has seen his social media posts deleted and had accounts restricted
- He has split from multiple corporate partnerships in recent weeks including Balenciaga and GAP, and he was dropped by talent agency CAA and studio MRC
- But Spotify chief Daniel Ek said Ye’s music will not be removed from the platform
- Though Ek disagrees with Ye’s social media outbursts, he pointed out that such messages are not promoted in his music
Footwear retailer Foot Locker has become the latest company to sever ties with Kanye West amid the backlash against his recent anti-Semitic remarks.
A spokesperson for Foot Locker said that while the company remains ‘a partner with adidas and carry a wide assortment of their collections – we will not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops, and we have instructed our retail operators to pull any existing product from our shelves and digital sites.’
Since the remarks, Ye has lost a string of lucrative, high profile partnerships, and German sportswear giant adidas on Tuesday ended a partnership estimated to be worth more than $1.5bn in total, including royalty payments and other fees.
But as corporations around the world break off deals with Ye, music streaming service Spotify said it would not remove the rapper’s music unless his label requested it.
Recent anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper are ‘just awful comments,’ and would have warranted removal from Spotify for violating its policies if they had been on a podcast or recording, Spotify chief Daniel Ek said.
But music from the artist now known as Ye did not violate anti-hate policies, and any anti-Semitic comments he has made cannot be found on the music streaming platform.
‘It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,’ said Ek, adding, ‘It’s up to his label, if they want to take action or not.’
Universal Music’s Def Jam label, which owns the copyright to West’s recordings from 2002 through 2016, and continued distributing his releases until last year, issued a statement condemning Ye’s remarks, saying: ‘There is no place for antisemitism in our society’.
But the label has not asked for the removal of Ye’s recordings, many of which are critically acclaimed works. The music also can be found on Apple Music and YouTube Music.
Kanye West has seen several high profile and lucrative partnerships with major brands severed amid the backlash from anti-Semitic remarks
A host of high profile brands have dropped Ye in recent days and weeks amid ongoing controversy over his social media posts and rants
Ye has refused to walk back his remarks, blaming Jewish people for his mental health struggles in a recent podcast
A pair of Yeezy shoes are seen in a Foot Locker store on the day Adidas terminated its partnership with the American rapper and designer Kanye West, now known as Ye, in Garden City, New York, U.S., October 25, 2022
What is Spotify’s policy on removing artists’ music from its platform?
In a 2018 statement, Spotify explained its policy on whether to remove an artist’s tracks from its platform pertains directly to the music, rather than their personal conduct outside of the industry.
‘Spotify does not permit content whose principal purpose is to incite hatred or violence against people because of their race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
‘As we’ve done before, we will remove content that violates that standard… We don’t aim to play judge and jury.’
This means that music that directly incites hatred against a particular group, race or class of people would be banned.
But Kanye West’s music will likely remain on the platform because despite his recent anti-Semitic comments on social media, his tracks do not promote such messages.
Questions over whether Spotify would pull Ye’s music come after Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel called for major streaming services to end their business relationships with Ye after the rapper promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories in interviews and on social media, where he Tweeted that he would go ‘death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.’
Spotify, however, has faced backlash when it punished musicians for their personal misconduct.
The streaming service removed R Kelly’s music from its playlists and recommendations in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct. It walked back the policy after other artists threatened boycotts, giving users a mute button to block particular artists, instead.
If Ye’s label asks for the rapper’s catalog to be removed, Ek said, ‘Obviously we’ll respect their wishes.’
Though his music remains on Spotify for now, Ye could lose his billionaire status after being dropped by adidas.
The rapper’s $220million annual deal with the German sports brand, which is worth $1.5billion in total, was terminated yesterday after his controversial behaviour – a decision taken after the deal was placed under review earlier this month following efforts to ‘privately resolve the situation’.
GAP and Kanye ended their partnership in September – but the clothing brand is now actively clearing its stores of Yeezy merchandise.
European fashion house Balenciaga also cut ties with Ye.
The deals were estimated to be worth $970 million over 10 years.
A number of companies and entities have cut ties with Kanye West in recent weeks, including:
- Investment bank JP Morgan Chase
- Clothing brand GAP
- Talent agency CAA
- Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga
- Production studio MRC
- Attorney Camille Vasquez
- Sportswear giant Adidas
- Donda West school educational consultant Dr. Tamar Andrews
It emerged on Monday that the rapper was dropped by Camille Vasquez, the attorney who defended Johnny Depp in the Amber Heard defamation trial, as well as top talent agency CAA.
A source for The New York Post claimed: ‘After Ye doubled down [on anti-Semitic comments] this weekend, Camille dropped him. The firm still wanted to make it work but on the condition he retract, he wouldn’t – so he fired them.’
CAA had cut ties with Ye at some point in the past month, according to the LA Times, after he made the anti-Semitic remarks.
Meanwhile, production studio MRC also announced on Monday they are shelving a documentary they made about the 45-year-old rapper.
MRC studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley announced in a memo Monday: ‘We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.’
Ye earlier this year hit out at several brands with which he was affiliated, accusing them of not fulfilling certain contractual arrangements.
In now-deleted Instagram posts, the multiple Grammy award winning artist accused Adidas and U.S. apparel retailer Gap Inc of failing to build contractually promised permanent stores for products from his Yeezy fashion line.
Kanye West attends the Balenciaga Spring 2023 Fashion Show at the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 2022 in New York City. Balenciaga and GAP are just two of the companies to have terminated lucrative deals with the rapper
Ye seemingly doubled down on his anti-Semitic rhetoric earlier this week in a podcast hosted by Lex Fridman, a Russian-American computer scientist who is also Jewish
On Monday, Ye seemingly doubled down on anti-Semitic rhetoric in a two-hour-and-26 minute interview with podcast host Lex Fridman, a Russian-American computer scientist who is also Jewish.
Ye blamed Jewish people for his mental health problems, and claimed Jews ‘control the media’.
He told Fridman: ‘We are still in the Holocaust. A Jewish friend of mine said, ”Go visit the Holocaust Museum,” and my response was, let’s visit our Holocaust Museum: Planned Parenthood.
‘Fifty percent today of … black people’s deaths today is abortion.
‘It’s not racism; that’s too wide of a term. It’s genocide and population control that black people are in today in America, that is promoted by the music and the media that black people make, that Jewish record labels get paid off of.’
Fridman challenged Ye on his claim of Jewish control of media and industry.
‘I grew up in the Soviet Union,’ Fridman said.
‘I’m Jewish, parts of my family perished in the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, I have to push back. When you say ”Jewish media”, there’s an echo of a pain that people feel.’
The rapper replied: ‘You’re saying it’s redundant, right. If Jewish people would accept that I’m a Jew, they’d hear it in a different way.’
Fridman said: ‘The right thing is not to say there’s Jewish control of the media.’
Ye yelled: ‘That’s incorrect though! That’s a f****** lie. There is. And they did come and bully me and proved the point.’
He claimed his own mental health disorder was the result of a Jewish conspiracy.
‘There was a Jewish trainer that brought me to the hospital, and put in [the] press that I went to the hospital. A Jewish doctor that diagnosed me.’
Fridman replied: ‘Why do you keep saying Jewish?’
Ye said: ‘Because they were. Diagnosed me with bipolar disorder and shot me with medication. Then put it in the press.’
How much is Kanye really worth?
Forbes estimate that Kanye is worth around $2billion, with DailyMail.com breaking down his individual deals:
ADIDAS – $1.5billion
West’s deal with Adidas was the crowning jewel of his fortune, with sales climbing to $1.7billion in 2020 – earning him $191 million in royalties.
Forbes estimates that the Yeezy business with Adidas is worth $1.5billion, and the company confirmed that they were likely to lose up to $250million of their net income in 2022 as a result of the split.
GAP X BALENCIAGA – $970million
His GAP collection was estimated at around $970million when the deal was announced in 2021, but he has since terminated his work with the retailer.
Initial products sold out in 2021, after being announced in June 2020, in a partnership which was expected to last for ten years but was cut short by West.
GAP were also part of a deal between Yeezy and Balenciaga, with estimates claiming they would bring in $1billion in projected sales.
SKIMS – $160million
West, who divorced Kim Kardashian in 2020, remains a partner in Skims but it is unclear how much he earns from that.
He previously ranted about owning 5 percent of the business, which is estimated at a $3.2billion net worth.
If that is the case then he would have a $160million stake in the company.
MUSIC – $90million
He has sold over 140 million albums worldwide, and documents seen by Forbes show that his own recorded music and publishing rights is worth at least $90million.
Between mortgages, advances and other liabilities, Forbes say West owes about $100 million.
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