Like witnessing a bad car crash, Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) latest episodes of hate speech and misogyny have been painful to watch and continue to elicit shock and dismay from every corner of the entertainment world.
After an earlier disingenuous apology to the Jewish community for previous antisemitic comments and actions, Ye has now doubled down on intolerance via social media missives that include “I Love Hitler,” “I’m a Nazi,” and “I’m never apologizing for my Jewish comments.” But perhaps most disturbing was his Super Bowl commercial that linked to yeezy.com, where the sole item for purchase was a T-shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika.
Prior to these recent events, our organization, Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), along with other organizations countering and educating about antisemitism, had already laid out the real-life consequences of his previous antisemitic actions, with the ADL claiming that numerous incidents – including violent attacks – were tied to Kanye’s previous antisemitic rants.
Many companies didn’t hesitate to immediately sever ties with him. Talent agency CAA dropped him, while Adidas severed ties. Independent studio MRC shelved a West film/documentary project, publicly stating “We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.” In the wake of Ye’s Super Bowl stunt, e-commerce platform Shopify deleted his online account.
We echo the words of entertainment industry leaders Ari Emanuel (CEO of Endeavor) and Jeremy Zimmer (CEO of United Talent Agency) who in 2022 both stated unambiguously that no one, and no companies, should be in business with Ye. But they went further than that, as Emanuel stated that “silence is dangerous” and that “West’s business partners across the fashion and entertainment industries also need to speak out and take action.”
Yet, Fox and Fox Television Stations (FTS) so far have remained silent beyond an internal memo that we feel did not go far enough.
Fox and FTS has not made a public apology for platforming Ye after a weeklong antisemitic tirade, regardless of where his website eventually linked to.
Fox and FTS have not publicly disavowed Ye’s actions and statements.
And Fox and FTS have not agreed to donate the money paid to them by Ye to counter and educate about antisemitism. (A rep for Fox and FTS did not reply to a request for comment.)
Sadly, Fox and FTS are not alone, as several companies continue to do business with Ye and/or profit from previous business relations with him.
No companies should be in business with him. Period.
While business contracts are complicated, those who have lingering or existing deals with Ye need to understand the message it sends and should not profit off his hate and instead need to think about how they can invest those monies to effect positive change.
The Super Bowl fiasco should be a cautionary tale to all companies — that doing business with Ye is bad business.
This has nothing to do with ‘cancel culture’; free speech is a fundamental right, but it does not come without consequences.
Ye is free to say whatever he wants, but businesses should not be platforming and thus endorsing his hatred — this includes companies, agents, distributors, artists, festivals, and producers who continue to work with him.
This is not about silencing someone because of their identity or political beliefs. This is about the moral decision by businesses to continue profiting off someone who is directly sowing and amplifying hatred. There is a stark contrast between defending artistic freedom and endorsing an individual who weaponizes their platform to spread bigotry.
As the leaders of the entertainment industry non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace, we believe in the power of using arts and culture to build bridges between disparate communities to encourage a more tolerant and brighter future.
CCFP now urges all corporations and entertainers who continue to do business with Ye to ask themselves these questions: Do you believe that music and culture can be a force for positive change? If so, can you in good conscience continue to profit from someone who is unapologetically fueled by hate?
The choice you make may save lives. It will most certainly make our world a more reasonable place to begin a few rational discussions.
David Renzer
Chairman / Co-Founder, Creative Community for Peace
Steve Schnur
Co-Founder, Creative Community for Peace
Ari Ingel
Executive Director, Creative Community for Peace
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