West was a money maker for Adidas, but with the uproar, the clothing giant cut the gaps and absorbed the losses. The artist who was fired from Instagram and Twitter is buying the social media service Parler, where conspiracy theories are rampant.
The rapper, now known as Ye, has been in the public eye for a long time, but the anti-Jewish comments made this fall have been too much for his partners. Many big brands have stopped working with the artist.
Kanye West’s worth has plummeted from $2 billion to $400 million.
The reputation has deteriorated over the years
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, Kanye West became one of the world’s most popular rappers in the 2000s. He has sold more than 160 million records and won 24 Grammy awards.
The confusion has been at least partly explained by West’s mental health problems. He suffers from bipolar disorder, which he has not always treated. In addition, he has suffered from depression and anxiety.
In March, Yle published a long story about West’s downfall.
West has been covered a lot in the media. On the other hand, media coverage fuels the spectacle that West has built around himself over the years. On the other hand, West is one of the most important celebrities in the world, and what he does has, for example, huge financial effects.
It has been noticed again this autumn.
Everything is crashing around
At the beginning of October, Kanye West appeared at Paris Fashion Week wearing a shirt with \”White Lives Matter\” written on the back. The slogan is generally considered the equivalent of the anti-racist Black Lives Matter movement.
West was blocked by Instagram, so he logged onto Twitter. West tweeted that he was going into \”death con 3 mode against the Jews\”. The term refers to the United States Armed Forces Defense Readiness Classification (DEFCON). The tweet was widely regarded as anti-Semitic.
The tweet was deleted and West’s account was closed.
And now everything stops around West again.
West was dropped from their roster by major agency CAA. The US bank JP Morgan Chase and clothing companies Gap and Balenciaga ended their cooperation. The production company MRC shelved the finished Kanye West documentary.
The biggest blow is the clothing giant Adidas, which announced that it will give up cooperation with the rapper. West has been designing his cheap and very popular Yeezy sneakers for the company since 2013.
Adidas practically had no options. The founders of the German company were once members of the Nazi Party, so the reputational damage is particularly significant.
As a result of the settlement, West’s market value fell from two billion to approximately 400 million dollars. A big hit will also come to Adidas, whose annual sales of up to eight percent come from West’s highly popular Yeezy sneakers.
\”Cancel-free social media\”
When West was silenced on Twitter and Instagram, the artist decided to buy his own social media service.
Launched in 2018, Parler is a social media service aimed at right-wing conservatives, whose moderation is much looser than Twitter and Instagram. According to Parler’s own words, Parler aims for a \”cancel-free ecosystem where all voices are welcome\”.
Parler’s popularity increased during the 2020 US presidential election. There was an exchange of messages referring to violence in the service before the coup attempt on the sixth of January.
The Westin Parler stores are not finished yet. If they come true, then there will be enough work.
Parler’s daily user numbers have plummeted from three million to 40,000 users. Twitter has approximately 237 million daily users.
West has done rebellious things for small audiences before. The *Donda 2* album was released exclusively on a separate music player launched by West, with a retail price of $200.
But would West, after all the visibility he has received, have the patience to communicate to his followers in a bit of right-wing fashion?