Industry backlash against Kanye West persists as Kim Kardashian comes out

Because of the rapper’s recent run of antisemitic comments, also known as Ye, and industry response, a finished documentary about him has been cancelled.

The co-founders of the film and television company MRC, Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu, and Scott Tenley, released a statement on Monday morning stating that they had decided not to move through with any distribution for their recently finished documentary about Kanye West. We are not able to promote any material that expands his platform.

The corporation is the most recent to sever connections with West after the rapper made his anti-Semitic opinions public during an earlier this month interview with Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

Kim Kardashian, the rapper’s ex-wife, also addressed West’s antisemitic remarks on Monday without mentioning him specifically. Kim Kardashian stated that hate speech is “never OK” or “excusable” in a narrative that she posted on her Instagram.
“I stand with the Jewish community and demand for an immediate end to the awful acts of violence and vile discourse against them,” she continued.

Earlier in the day, numerous members of her family, including her mother Kris Jenner, sisters Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner, wrote similar messages on their respective social media accounts in support of Jews.

The caption upon every person’s Instagram story said, “I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people.”

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the rapper’s longstanding talent agency CAA no longer represents the musician. Hollywood studios have been urged to end their collaborations with West by agency chiefs Ari Emanuel of Endeavor, Bob Gersh, and Jeremy Zimmer of UTA. “We cannot tolerate racism, antisemitism, or hate speech. Kanye West tweeted on October 8 that he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” misusing the military alert term Defcon, and posted that “you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” apparently in reference to the Jewish people. Zimmer requested that the company as a whole support the boycott of West. West’s account was suspended by Twitter and the posts were removed.

West reiterated his opinions during a segment that was cut from The Shop: Uninterrupted before it aired. According to co-host Maverick Carter, West “used The Shop to rehash more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes.”

Following an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast last week, the fashion label Balenciaga also severed ties with West. Throughout the 45-minute talk, West floated a number of antisemitic conspiracies and insisted that George Floyd had died from a fentanyl overdose rather than being killed by Minneapolis police. Since then, Roxie Washington, the daughter of Floyd, has sued West for defamation in the amount of $250 million.

Adidas, a sportswear firm, has been under pressure to end its partnership with West as well. Adidas had already placed their business relations with West “under review” as a result of his wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt during the Paris Fashion Week. “I can actually scream antisemitic crap, and they can’t drop me,” West continued on the Drink Champs show. Even if I use anti-Semitic language, Adidas won’t fire me. What’s next?

The Anti-Defamation League publicly urged Adidas to sever ties with West as a result of the comments:“In light of Kanye West’s increasingly strident antisemitic remarks over the past few weeks, we were disturbed to learn that Adidas plans to continue to release new products from his Yeezy brand without any seeming acknowledgment of the controversy surrounding his most recent remarks,” a statement said.

“We implore Adidas to reconsider its support for the Ye product line and to make it abundantly clear that the Adidas organisation and community have zero tolerance for antisemitism,” they wrote.

Several Los Angeles municipal officials denounced the rallies over the weekend that were organised in support of Kanye West’s anti-Semitic remarks, in which a small group of people performed the Nazi salute along a freeway and held posters that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews. Honk if you know.”

Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, tweeted, “We condemn the antisemitic actions this weekend.” Jews in Los Angeles ought to always feel secure. In Los Angeles, bigotry and discrimination have no place. And we won’t give up in our effort to expose and eradicate it.