- Thursday, February 13, 2025
By: Vibhuti Pathak
Kanye West is facing legal action and severe backlash after a series of antisemitic statements and controversial actions, including selling a T-shirt with a swastika design through his Yeezy brand. His remarks and actions have resulted in him being sued, dropped by his talent agency, and having his retail platform taken offline by Shopify.
Last week, West, also known as Ye, posted antisemitic content on X, stating, “I’m a Nazi … I love Hitler.” In addition, he allegedly referred to himself as Hitler when addressing a Jewish employee. The T-shirt in question, labeled “HH-01” on the Yeezy website, was widely speculated to reference “Heil Hitler.”
Shopify, which hosted the Yeezy online store, swiftly took the platform offline, stating: “All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms.”
West’s talent agency, 33 & West, also severed ties with him. Daniel McCartney, the agency’s representative, confirmed: “Effective immediately … due to his harmful and hateful remarks that myself nor 33 & West can stand for.”
A former staff member of West’s company, identified as Jane Doe, has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles superior court, citing wrongful termination, gender, and religious discrimination. The woman, who is Jewish, alleged that between January and June 2024, West subjected her to a hostile work environment and fired her after sending a text message reading, “Hail [sic] Hitler.”
Another alleged message from West read: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.” Her lawyer, Carney Shegerian, described West’s behavior as “a relentless and deliberate campaign of antisemitism and misogyny.”
West has not commented on the lawsuit or the actions taken by Shopify and 33 & West. The Guardian has reached out to his management for a response.
X initially allowed West’s antisemitic posts to remain but later intervened when he began sharing pornographic links. Elon Musk, the owner of X, stated: “Given what he has posted, his account is now classified as NSFW [not safe for work]. You should not be seeing that any more.” West later deactivated his account, writing: “I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent.”
West has a history of antisemitic remarks, including a 2022 post stating, “I’m going death con 3 on Jewish people.” His comments led to Adidas terminating its lucrative Yeezy partnership. He later praised Hitler during an interview with right-wing commentator Alex Jones, saying: “There’s a lot of things that I love about Hitler.”
Although he issued an apology in Hebrew in 2023, West has since retracted it, stating: “I’m never apologising for my Jewish comments … I’m calm as ice this is how I really feel.”
West recently made headlines at the Grammys, instructing his wife Bianca Censori to remove her fur coat, revealing a sheer minidress. He later justified his actions, writing: “I have dominion over my wife.”
Despite the controversy, West is set to release his next album, Bully, in the summer. His last two albums, Vultures 1 and Vultures 2, released in 2024, topped the US charts.
