Kanye West Claims He Lost $2 Billion in Just One Day In Wake of Antisemitic Remarks
Ye’s Instagram post proclaimed, “the money is not who I am, the people is who I am.”
Kanye West has put a hard, shocking number on the gargantuan financial free-fall caused by his recent spate of antisemitic remarks. In an Instagram post on Thursday morning (Oct 27) addressed to Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel — who last week urged companies to stop working with West — the rapper who now goes by Ye wrote, “Ari Emanuel. I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am.”
At press time Billboard was unable to confirm the figures cited by West, who over the past week has been dropped by his reps at CAA, lost partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, had his Essentials playlist pulled from Apple Music, his products taken off shelves at TJ Maxx and was cut off by Foot Locker. The end of the Adidas deal will reportedly result in a $246 million loss for the company this year and is believed to be the linchpin in Ye’s loss of billionaire status.
The athletic company had previously announced earlier this month that its collaboration with Kanye West was “under review” after he made controversial remarks on a now-deleted episode of the Drink Champs podcast. In the podcast, West suggested that his partnership with Adidas protected him from consequences for making antisemitic statements. This came after weeks of interviews where West continued to make derogatory comments about Jewish people, in addition to sparking controversy with the unveiling of “White Lives Matter” shirts at Paris Fashion Week. Subsequently, the Adidas team decided to sever ties with West, stating that they had reached their limit.
In another series of setbacks to the tarnished public image of the once-respected rapper, Kanye West faced humiliation as he was unceremoniously escorted out of the Skechers office on Tuesday, October 26, for showing up “uninvited.” This incident occurred concurrently with the removal of his wax figure from Madame Tussauds London and the expulsion of his Donda Academy basketball team from a tournament due to his hate speech. Furthermore, two prominent athletes affiliated with his Donda Sports marketing firm terminated their contracts, citing their objection to West’s repeated dissemination of anti-Jewish rhetoric. Despite efforts to reach out for comment on his Instagram post, a spokesperson for West remained unreachable at the time of publication.
West’s downfall has been met with condemnation from various sectors within his once-prominent music and fashion empire. Longtime label Universal Music and publisher Sony have publicly denounced his hate speech, while his longtime engineer Andrew Dawson pledged to donate his royalties to Jewish organizations, distancing himself from West’s actions.
In an apparent attempt to mock his dire situation, West posted a fake headline from a fictional news agency on Tuesday, suggesting that he had severed ties with himself. This sarcastic post seemed to allude to the meltdown of his business empire, accompanied by the comment “Had to cut ties bro.”
The swift repercussions have significantly diminished the war chest that Ye once boasted was close to $3.3 billion. Forbes now estimates his wealth to be in the still-substantial range of $400 million, a substantial decrease from his previous claims. The multi-year partnership with Adidas alone was reportedly valued at around $1.5 billion. According to the financial magazine, what remains of West’s financial empire includes real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5% stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.
Source link