Kanye West ‘Spewing Dangerous’ Antisemitic ‘Rhetoric’: National Jewish Organization Urges Brands To Drop Him

The National Jewish Organization told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that Kanye’s recent remarks promote ‘hate and ill will towards Jews’. Read more here.

Kanye “Ye” West has doubled and even tripled down on his antisemitic tweets and views he has proudly made known over the last two weeks. Now, StandWithUs, an international non-partisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism, has spoken out against his harmful remarks and is pleading with brands that work with him to cease their relations with him. “Ye is spewing dangerous antisemitic tropes that promote hate and ill will towards Jews,” Roz Rothstein, co-Founder, and CEO, told HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE statement.

“Companies should not be profiting on his name since he is this hostile. Kudos to Balenciaga, Vogue, and to CAA for dropping him,” Roz told HollywoodLife. “We are delighted to hear that on October 25, Adidas and Gap announced that they are also breaking ties with Ye. People of goodwill should stay far away from someone who proudly regurgitates this level of abhorrent rhetoric.“

The French fashion house Balenciaga cut ties with Kanye by Oct. 21, according to WWD. “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Balenciaga’s parent company, Kering, told WWD in a statement. Furthermore, his former talent agency CAA confirmed they are no longer representing the Donda rapper and that his upcoming documentary has been scrapped.

“This morning, after discussion with our filmmakers and distribution partners, we made the decision not to proceed with any distribution for our recently completed documentary about Kanye West. We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” three MRC studio executives announced on Monday, Oct. 24, per Variety. “Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain.”

The statement from StandWithUs and Kanye’s collaborators cutting ties with him came as the Los Angeles Times reported that there has been a rise in antisemitic activity stemming from Kanye’s antisemitic rhetoric. For example, there was a demonstration on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles that advertised the hate group, Goyim Defense League. A person at the demonstration held a banner that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” per The Jewish News.

All of these announcements piled up in the span of about two weeks after Kanye ranted about Jewish people on Twitter and claimed he wanted to go “death con 3” on anyone tied to the religion. He then defended himself by saying “black people are actually Jew [sic].” The tweets were immediately removed for violating Twitter’s guidelines. He also spewed hate against Jewish people on the Oct. 15 episode of the since-deleted Drink Champs podcast and claimed, “Jewish people have owned the Black voice” and that Jewish people in the music industry will “milk [Black people] till we die”, according to Independent.

He then doubled down on these claims when he sat down with controversial British television host Piers Morgan, 57, last week and said he was “absolutely not” sorry for saying anything that he has stated against Jews. He then confirmed that he knew what he said was racist, and said that’s what prompted him to say it.  “So you said it knowing it’s racist?” a shocked Piers asked. “Yes. I fought fire with fire,” the father of four proudly replied. “I’m not here to get hosed down. That’s a different type of freedom fighter.”

See more

"I will say I'm sorry for the people I hurt…

"Hurt people hurt people, and I was hurt."

Don't miss a preview of Piers Morgan's extraordinary interview with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, on TalkTV at 8pm.@piersmorgan | @kanyewest | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/qdhwQ5OFTU

— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) October 19, 2022

He also called Piers a “Karen” for arguing with his viewpoint. “God forbid one comment could cause people to feel any of the pain that my people have went through for years,” Ye pushed back. He later added, “It’s not racism… I was in a position where I was hurt and this was the way I had the right to express myself.” He also told Piers he should follow his lead so he can be richer.

Before this aired, he had already fought back against the backlash he faced while sitting down with Chris Cuomo. “When I wore the White Lives Matter t-shirt, the Jewish underground media mafia already started attacking me,” he claimed.

And as recently as Oct. 22, Kanye was still proudly backing up his statements. “I ain’t losing no money,” he told TMZ reporters, addressing his lost partnerships. “The day I was taken off the Balenciaga site, that was one of the most freeing days.” He also implied that brands were dropping him simply to “score points.” Kanye reportedly hired Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez to oversee his businesses dealings in the wake of the canceled contracts, but they reportedly couldn’t reach an agreement due to his ongoing attacks on the Jewish people. In his conversation with TMZ, Kanye also claimed that the backlash he has received is because of Jewish people.

Kanye’s lack of awareness has caused several stars to speak out against him, including his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. “Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” she wrote on her Instagram Story on Oct. 24. “I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.” Three of Kim’s sisters, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner, all have followed suit along with many other stars by posting a message that reads: “I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people.”