Should We Still Be Supporting Kanye West?

Photo+courtesy+of+Axel+Antas-Begkvist+at+Unsplash.com

Photo courtesy of Axel Antas-Begkvist at Unsplash.com

Claire Sloniewsky, Staff Writer

According to Billboard, Kanye West lost 2 billion dollars due to recent anti-Semitic comments he posted on social media, as well as several other actions that discriminated against various religions and races from around the world. This artist had about 50.98 million monthly listeners on Spotify before the comments, which have been shifting dramatically over the past few weeks. Coming from an individual who has frequently listened to his music, we should not be supporting Kanye West at all, musically and otherwise.

Adidas cut ties with West despite their multimillion-dollar partnership, Yeezy. The action was taken after Kanye West reportedly taunted the company, declaring they couldn’t drop him due to the profitability and prosperity of the franchise. After cutting ties with Adidas, Kanye’s net worth decreased by about $1.5 billion dollars resulting in the end of his billionaire status. The chance Adidas took by dismissing Kanye demonstrates the drastic influence that West’s words have on his public image, the profitability of the companies he is tied to, as well as his avid supporters and fans.

As a response to the repercussions of his own actions, Kanye West posted to Instagram, stating, “I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I’m still alive.” He then stated that “This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am” (CBS News). I find it difficult to wrap my mind around how the person preaching “love speech” is also the same person threatening certain religious beliefs on social media. Due to these events, we should not be supporting Kanye West. Numerous people around the world are greatly affected and influenced by the words he posts on social media, which could result in violent actions that could disrupt the peace in society.