CHICAGO — The Wieners Circle has never been one to hold back an insult.
On Thursday, its marquee — a North Clark Street beacon that has taken aim at public figures ranging from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin — called out hip-hop artist Kanye West, whose recent antisemitic comments have cost him partnerships totaling $2 billion in recent weeks, West said on Instagram.
The Lincoln Park hot dog stand declared “Kanye can suck our kosher dogs” on its marquee, jokingly adding in a post on Twitter that, “Chicago has officially dropped Kanye.”
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, has come under fire after recent appearances on Fox News and the podcast “Drink Champs,” where he questioned the cause of George Floyd’s death and recycled harmful rhetoric about Jewish money and influence. Combined with social media posts, the controversial statements have led Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga and his talent agency to drop partnerships with West. Floyd’s family has filed a $250 million lawsuit against Ye, and Twitter and Instagram restricted his accounts.
On Wednesday, a mural depicting West in the West Loop neighborhood was painted over, leaving a black silhouette where the artist’s likeness previously stood facing West Lake Street near Morgan Street.
The artist, Chicago-based photographer and creative director Jason M. Peterson, painted it over himself Wednesday, according to a Sun-Times interview with the building’s owner and main occupant, MINIMAL Design founder and CEO Scott Wilson.
Peterson said in a message to the Tribune on Thursday the building’s owner asked for something to be done, and declined to comment further.
In October 2021, his West Loop mural was tied to an auction of a nonfungible token of the monochromatic artwork. Auctioned on public blockchain Avalanche, the NFT sold for 1,512 AVAX, according to the auction site, the equivalent of approximately $95,000 at the time. (Many cryptocurrencies have plummeted in value in 2022, and the same amount of AVAX is now worth approximately $25,600.)
Along with garnering a massive social media following for his dramatic black-and-white photography, Peterson has worked with major clients ranging from the Chicago Bulls, Adidas, Dos Equis and McDonald’s to rappers such as Chance the Rapper, ASAP Rocky, Lupe Fiasco — as well as West and his fashion brand Yeezy.
As for The Wieners Circle, the Lincoln Park hot dog stand is no stranger to making commentary regarding the political climate.
When presidential candidate Donald Trump was scheduled to visit the University of Illinois at Chicago for a rally in 2016, The Wieners Circle made national headlines with its special of 3-inch “Trump footlongs,” poking fun at the future president.
Two years later, the marquee called out Trump’s immigration policy of separating immigrant children from their parents when families cross into the United States with a message reading: “Tiny hands. Tiny wiener. Tiny heart.”
West is a Chicago native who became a revered figure in the hip-hop scene and helped launch the careers of rappers such as Chief Keef, Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper. While some Chicagoans have condemned comments as damaging, some believe he’ll continue to have a hold on his hometown fans.
“Kanye is not losing fans, at least it doesn’t seem like that in my world,” said The Triibe publisher Morgan Elise Johnson last week. “For those Kanye disciples, they’re just kind of rolling with him no matter what he says or does at this point, and I’ve learned that I’m not going to convince these people.”
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(Chicago Tribune’s Will Lee contributed.)
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