A Timeline of the Consequences Kanye West Has Faced for His ‘WLM’ Shirts & Antisemitic Hate Speech
Written by djfrosty on October 25, 2022
Kanye West is facing very public reckoning. The “Hurricane” rapper made headlines at his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week show on Oct. 3 for wearing a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on its back, and featuring Black models in the shirt. The phrase is one that was adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rapper has been facing backlash from both fans and celebrities online.
But the controversy did not stop for there for Ye, who has doubled down on his comments on Instagram and later took to Twitter to use antisemitic rhetoric in his posts, then continued to amplify his hate speech in interviews. The reaction from the public was swift, with several companies — including The Gap, Balenciaga, and more — terminating their relationships and brand deals with the rapper.
Forbes has also reported that Ye has lost his billionaire status after Adidas announced Oct. 25 that it was dropping his due deal, and that the brand does not tolerate hate speech. The move, according to the publication, now puts Ye’s net worth at $400 million and resulted in his removal from Forbes‘ billionaires list.
From brands and scrapped documentaries, to airplay declines of his music catalogue and more, here are the consequences Kanye West has faced due to his “WLM” and antisemitic remarks.