Kanye West has received backlash on social media and from friends after saying antisemitic remarks during some interviews. 

West is a famous musical artist, but he has lost many brand deals with companies such as Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap after making some very controversial comments against the Jewish community. 

In early Oct. 2022, West posted antisemitic comments on various social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram and, in doing so, he was violating these media and company policies. In one of West’s removed posts, he said he would go, “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

The Anti-Defamation League has been angry with West’s post, calling it “deeply troubling, dangerous, and antisemitic, period.” 

As a result, West has been locked out of his Twitter account and been temporarily restricted from his Instagram account. 

West’s former posts has led to his current ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, who has a wide following over all social media platforms to post this quote on her Instagram story: 

“Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end,” Kardashian said.

One of the biggest clothing brands, Balenciaga, has cut ties with West. The clothing brand has slowly began removing some of their references to West from their site. 

 “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” stated a representative of Balenciaga.  

Other companies like the sporting company Adidas have also terminated their contract with West. 

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-semitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said. “Ye’s recent comments and action have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.” 

Adidas has immediately stopped all their production of its line of Yeezy products and stopped payments to West and his companies. 

Adidas is expected to take a hit of up to $246 million to its net income this year from the move away from West. Overall, Adidas revenues about 23.1 billion dollars with the Yeezy brand and is projected to generate $1.5 billion this year. This makes up roughly 15 percent of the company’s net income. 

According to forbes.com, West’s estimated $2 billion fortune, a whopping $1.5 billion was attributable to his contract with Adidas. This loss erases a massive chunk of West’s net worth, which now estimated at $400 million.