Kanye West was escorted out of Sketchers for an “unauthorized visit,” while Adidas, T.J. Maxx, and a number of stores are dropping the Yeezy label. Madame Tussauds has removed his wax figure, and Apple removed his essentials playlists.
Numerous companies around the globe canceling Kanye West
The fallout from Kanye West’s antisemitic statements continues as more and more companies around the world are removing his brands and/or image from their stores and facilities, distancing their organizations from the rapper.
Two days ago, Adidas ended its partnership with West. The sportswear company admitted that ending the relationship will cause it to lose around $246 million in its fourth-quarter sales, but added the company “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech” and finds West’s comments “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous,” CNN reported.
After the end of the Adidas partnership, West was now worth somewhere around $400 million, ending his previous billionaire status of a net worth of around $1.3 billion, TMZ reported.
Kanye escorted out of Sketchers offices after “unauthorized visit”
On Wednesday, Kanye West showed up unannounced at the Los Angeles offices of shoe company Sketchers.
In a statement released by Sketchers, the company said West “arrived unannounced and without invitation,” and after engaging in “unauthorized filming,” the rapper was escorted off the premises by two Skechers executives, ABC reported.
“Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West,” the statement said. “We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech.”
Madame Tussauds removes Kanye West’s wax figure
London’s world-renowned waxwork museum Madame Tussauds announced it removed a wax figure of Kanye West from public view, one that featured the rapper next to a selfie-taking Kim Kardashian.
The museum said West’s wax figure “has been retired from the attraction floor to our archive,” The BBC reported.
The museum said the decision follows numerous controversial events and statements from Mr. West, including when he wore a “white lives matter” T-shirt, as well as his antisemitic comments.
A spokesperson for Madame Tussauds London said the museum “listens” to the public about “what they expect to see.”
T.J. Maxx and numerous stores dropping the Yeezy label
T.J. Maxx announced it will not purchase any Yeezy merchandise throughout its global stores. In addition, Foot Locker, Gap, and Balenciaga have also said they will not stock his Yeezy label clothes, the Daily Mail reported.
Ernie Herrman, T.J. Maxx CEO, said in the statement to CNN: “At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind.”
Apple drops Wests essentials playlists, but Spotify won’t cancel Kanye–why not?
Apple music removed Kanye West’s bio and Essentials Playlists on its streaming platform; however, his music is still on the platform, the Daily Mail reported.
While there have been calls for Spotify to drop his music, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the company won’t remove West’s music but said the comments were “just awful.”
Spotify said since West’s comments weren’t made in any of his music or other content that exists on the streaming service, there are no grounds to remove him.
“It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,” Ek said. “It’s up to his label, if they want to take action or not.”
The label in question is Universal Music’s Def Jam label, which owns the copyright to West’s recordings from 2002 through 2016. The label has not asked for the removal of West’s music.
