The rapper formerly known as Kanye West was removed out of the California-based headquarters of athletic footwear Skechers on Wednesday, a day after Adidas discontinued its connection with the artist following his antisemitic remarks.
The Grammy-winning artist, who legally changed his name to Ye, “arrived unexpectedly and uninvited” at Skechers’ corporate headquarters in Manhattan Beach, southwest of Los Angeles, according to the business.
“Because Ye was filming without permission, two Skechers executives took him and his friends out of the building after a short dialogue,” according to a company statement.
The company stated, “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of collaborating with West.” We do not allow antisemitism or any other type of hate speech.
Tuesday night, the rapper’s Instagram account, which had been suspended for antisemitic comments, resumed posting. A second message displaying a screen capture of a text conversation that seemed to be from a contact at a prominent legal firm detailed when Ye might resume designing new clothing and footwear.
Emails addressed to representatives of Ye were not immediately returned, thus it was impossible to confirm the message’s specifics.
Ye has made antisemitic remarks in interviews and on social media for weeks, including a tweet earlier this month claiming he will soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent allusion to the DEFCON defense preparedness status scale. His tweets resulted to his ban from both Instagram and Twitter.
He issued an apology for the post on Monday.
Adidas stated on Tuesday that it was ending a deal with Ye that helped make him a millionaire, citing a zero-tolerance policy for anti-Semitism and hate speech.
The German sneaker behemoth predicted that the decision to immediately cease production of its Yeezy products would have a negative impact on its net profits of up to 250 million euros.
After he suggested that slavery was a choice and referred to the COVID-19 vaccination as the “mark of the beast,” the corporation stood by Ye despite other difficulties.
In addition to Foot Locker, Gap, TJ Maxx, JPMorgan Chase bank, and Vogue magazine, several corporations have said they are severing connections with Ye. An MRC documentary about him was also scrapped.
The Adidas move and other terminated business deals have resulted in his net worth dropping to the point where he’s not a billionaire anymore, according to Forbes.
Once valued at $2 billion, the rapper and designer now has a net worth of about $400 million, Forbes says, with that total comprised of cash, real estate and the value of his music. He also owns 5% of Skims, the shapewear brand founded by his ex-wife Kim Kardashian West, with whom he has four children.