CAA Cuts Ties with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian Speaks Out Against Antisemitism

"Hate speech is never OK or excusable"

BY Allie GregoryPublished Oct 24, 2022

After Balenciaga ended its relationship with Kanye West last week, American talent agency CAA has also dropped its contract with the artist amid recent outbursts of antisemitism, according to Deadline.

The publication notes that West was signed with the agency exclusively for touring, pointing out that he has not toured since 2016.

Amid a wave of condemnation of West's recent comments, ex-wife Kim Kardashian has also spoken out against antisemitism in a new statement. "Hate speech is never OK or excusable," Kardashian wrote on her various social platforms today. "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 is the latest among her family to speak out against hate. Her sister Khloé Kardashian took a stand against her former brother-in-law on Twitter, writing, "I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people." Kris, Kendall and Kylie Jenner also shared similar messages.

Calls for the further denouncement of West's hateful rhetoric have been circling online in recent weeks, with many calling for German multinational sportswear company Adidas to cut ties with him as well. The company has stated that its relationship with West is "under review."

UPDATE (10/25 1:54 p.m. ET): Adidas have now ended their partnership with Kanye West and halted production on the Yeezy brand.

"I can say antisemitic things, and Adidas can't drop me," West said on a now-infamous episode of the Drink Champs podcast.

West's most recent bout of controversy began after debuting a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt with right-wing commentator Candace Owens at a Paris fashion show, later calling BLM a "scam," getting his Instagram and Twitter accounts restricted for antisemitic posts and subsequently vowing to buy Owens's husband's "free speech" social media app Parler.

Ye is also facing a possible $250 million USD lawsuit from the family of George Floyd after claiming that the late victim of police brutality died from a fentanyl overdose. In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, West also demanded that disgraced comedian Louis C.K. be "uncancel[led]."

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