EXCLUSIVE: ‘I’m Jewish. I love my guy.’ Israel-born former COO of Yeezy brand DEFENDS Kanye West and asks for compassion after rapper’s anti-Semitic remarks lost him Adidas deal and $2billion
- Udi Avshalom, 52, was the Chief Operating Officer of Kanye West’s brand Yeezy from 2017-2022
- He took to Instagram Thursday to call on the public to have compassion for West
- ‘He has trusted me for years, I am Jewish. We made history together. I helped build his brand for him,’ Avshalom said
- ‘I love my guy and upset at the same time at all this,’ Avshalom said of Ye. ‘He knows he talkin nonsense, but chill don’t judge, as he reflects he will realize’
- Avshalom was born in Israel and immigrated with his parents to Brooklyn at age six
- On October 9, West tweeted, ‘I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE’
- The rapper, 45, claims he’s lost $2billion after Adidas ended its partnership with Yeezy and several other companies severed ties with him over his remarks
The Jewish former COO of Yeezy has come to the defense of Kanye West after the rapper made anti-Semitic comments.
Israel-born Udi Avshalom, 52, took to Instagram Thursday to call on the public to have compassion for Kanye West, who claims he’s lost $2billion after Adidas ended its partnership with Yeezy and several other companies severed ties with him over his remarks.
‘I love my guy and upset at the same time at all this,’ Avshalom wrote of West, who now goes by Ye. ‘He knows he talkin nonsense, but chill don’t judge, as he reflects he will realize.’
Avshalom, who was the Chief Operating Officer of Kanye’s brand Yeezy from 2017 until this year, posted a photo of three medals and wrote that they are his grandfather’s, who taught him ‘to never judge.’
‘[Kanye] has trusted me for years, I am Jewish. We made history together. I helped build his brand for him,’ he wrote. ‘I pray for positive results. I hope he wakes up tomorrow in a better place, do what’s right and get back to building culture.’
Udi Avshalom, 52, was the Chief Operating Officer of Kanye West’s brand Yeezy from 2017-2022
Avshalom posted a photo of three medals and wrote that they are his grandfather’s, who taught him ‘to never judge’
‘He has trusted me for years, I am Jewish. We made history together. I helped build his brand for him,’ Avshalom said in a post Wednesday. ‘I love my guy and upset at the same time at all this. He knows he talkin nonsense, but chill don’t judge, as he reflects he will realize’
On October 9, West tweeted, ‘I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.’
In the aftermath, his Twitter and Instagram accounts were blocked and his lucrative deals with Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga and Vogue all abruptly ended.
It was also revealed on Monday that top talent agency CAA had cut ties with Kanye. The company announced it had stopped representing him after he made the anti -Semitic remarks.
Avshalom was born in Israel and immigrated with his parents to Brooklyn, New York, at age six.
He has been regarded as the ‘guru of sneaker culture’ and has worked with other hip hop moguls including Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
According to his bio, he was COO of Yeezy until this year and managed all product creations as well as overall brand strategy, growing the brand from $148million to over $1.5billion.
‘Hip hop is a community of modern inclusion, blacks Jews and more,’ Avshalom wrote in his post. ‘There is more good than bad in the Jewish, black bond. There is something super special I’n [sic] this culture of hip hop that we got. There is something so amazing to see blacks and Jews in businesses that the wasps dident [sic] want.’
He alluded to West’s struggles with mental health and wrote, ‘I believe with education he will have a more positive POV , mental health is NO joke.’
Avshalom, who lives in California with his wife of 25 years and children, goes on to say that West has other things he is ‘angry about’ and says that he will pray for the rapper.
‘He will come around and prove his leadership,’ Avshalom wrote, ‘Jews and blacks learned to accept each other, we have far more love than hate for one another. Facts.’
Avshalom has been regarded as the ‘guru of sneaker culture’ and has worked with other hip hop moguls including Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. pictured with Jay- Z in 2006
The rapper, 45, claims he’s lost $2billion after Adidas ended its partnership with Yeezy and several other companies severed ties with him over his remarks
On Wednesday, West was removed from Forbes’ list of billionaires, with the magazine concluding that without Adidas he is worth $400 million.
His fortune comes from real estate, cash, his music catalog and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company, Skims.
The deal with Adidas brought West an estimated $1.5 billion.
On Wednesday afternoon, West was embarrassingly escorted out of Skechers headquarters after showing up unannounced to pitch his Yeezy brand, one day after being dropped by Adidas and having his songs banned by Peloton.
He was taken out by two ‘executives’ according to a statement released by the company.
Skechers representatives said in a statement: ‘Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation. Skechers 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.’
West may have faced additional opposition if he had gotten a preapproved sit-down meeting with Skechers executives as the CEO Robert Greenberg and current President Michael Greenberg are both Jewish.
The rapper’s removal from the shoe brand’s office comes mere hours after Adidas announced that it will continue to sell Yeezy products while removing the rapper’s moniker.
Management said that they will sell the items under their own brand at the beginning of 2023, according to analysts.
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