At the moment, all eyes are on Kanye West as he finds himself caught in what can only be described as a media firestorm. West has had many tribulations; however, some are calling this the breakdown of all breakdowns.
Kanye’s ‘White Lives Matter’ fiasco caused an uproar and sparked international outrage. Now that the rapper has not only been labelled a racist but also an anti-semite, it appears that Kanye is losing out on a lot of opportunities and even endorsements as companies consider whether they want to be associated with the man.
Adidas have already put their partnership with West “under review” following his anti-semitic Instagram posts, but now basketball legend LeBron James’ talk show The Shop will not air its Kanye interview as the rapper used the platform to spew what some might consider hate speech. Furthermore, it is rumoured that during the interview, the rapper perpetuated negative stereotypes about Jewish people, the Black community and more.
In an official statement put out by media production company Andscape which produce the talk show, Maverick Carter, the show’s producer, declared: “After talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped”. Detailing further, he continued: “I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion, and he was ready to address all his recent comments. Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes.”
The statement further read that LeBron James’ show “embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions”. However, the platform and its team “have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate“.
Taking the blame, Carter wrapped up the statement by sharing: “I take full responsibility for believing Kanye wanted a different conversation and apologise to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”
Kanye’s anti-semitic comments have received heavy backlash from celebrities such as Sarah Silverman, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Legend and Jack Antonoff, politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and organisations including the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance.
It is hard to see Kanye returning from all this controversy, but with such a legion of fans feeding onto the rapper’s messiah complex, he most definitely will. You can view Andscape’s tweet below.