Kanye West Faces Lawsuit, Talent Agency Drop, And Retail Ban Over Antisemitic Remarks

Kanye West faces a lawsuit and has been dropped by his talent agency following a series of antisemitic outbursts, including selling swastika-adorned merchandise on his fashion brand's website, leading Shopify to shut down the site and allegedly comparing himself to Hitler, The Guardian reported. 

Last week, Kanye West, also known as Ye, posted a series of antisemitic statements on X, including "I'm a Nazi ... I love Hitler."

Adding to the controversy, a T-shirt featuring a swastika was listed for sale on the website of his fashion brand, Yeezy, under the product line "HH-01," widely speculated to stand for "Hail Hitler."

In response, Shopify, which hosted Yeezy's online store, removed the platform, stating: "All merchants must follow our platform's rules. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms."

On Monday, talent agency 33 & West severed ties with West. Daniel McCartney, an executive at the agency, released a statement saying their professional relationship was "effective immediately" over West's "harmful and hateful remarks."

By Tuesday, West faced further fallout as a former employee filed a lawsuit against him in Los Angeles Superior Court. The Jewish woman accused him of wrongful termination and religious and gender discrimination, citing incidents between January and June 2024. She alleged that West fired her after sending a text reading "Hail [sic] Hitler" and, on another occasion, welcomed her to work with the message: "Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler." Her attorney, Carney Shegerian, described West's behavior as "a relentless and deliberate campaign of antisemitism and misogyny."

West has not responded to the lawsuit or the actions taken by Shopify and 33 & West. 

Meanwhile, X initially allowed his antisemitic posts to remain but later took action when West began posting links to pornographic videos. X owner Elon Musk stated: "Given what he has posted, his account is now classified as NSFW [not safe for work]. You should not be seeing that anymore." West later deactivated his account, posting: "I'm logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent."

West has a history of antisemitic remarks. In October 2022, he declared he was going "death con 3 on Jewish people," accusing them of trying to "blackball" those who opposed their "agenda." The backlash led Adidas to terminate their Yeezy sneaker deal, one of West's most profitable partnerships.

Former US President Joe Biden indirectly responded to West's statements at the time, writing: "The Holocaust happened, Hitler was a demonic figure."

In 2023, West issued an apology in Hebrew, stating: "I sincerely apologise to the Jewish community ... It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused." However, over the weekend, he reversed course, writing: "I'm never apologising for my Jewish comments ... I'm calm as ice, this is how I really feel."

Earlier this month, West made headlines at the Grammy Awards, where he appeared with his wife, Bianca Censori. During the event, he instructed her to remove her fur coat, leaving her nearly naked in a sheer minidress. Reflecting on the moment, he later wrote on X: "I have dominion over my wife."

West recently claimed on a podcast that he had been diagnosed as autistic and misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder.