On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being, say, James Corden and 10 being R. Kelly, how close are we to completely canceling Kanye West?
Because after offending everyone from Jared Kushner to Taylor Swift, the only people left in his corner have names like North, Chicago and Trump.
How far has West gone off the deep end? Any day now, you can expect him to reverse himself and say George Bush actually loves Black people.
West is under fire for anti-Semitic remarks he made about Kushner, who is former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Jews in general.
Of Kushner, West said the former White House adviser only brokered the Abraham Accord peace deal between Israel and some Arab states because he hoped to benefit financially.
West, who calls himself “Ye” now, also recently threatened to go “DEF CON 3 on Jewish people” in an outrageous tweet.
The rapper went on to tell TV anchor Chris Cuomo that his “life was threatened by my Jewish managers, by my Jewish lawyer, by my Jewish accountant.”
The consequences have been substantial, if not swift. Several companies cut ties with West over the controversy, including Adidas, a repercussion that reportedly sent his net worth plummeting from $1.9 billion to $400 million.
West mistakenly thought the sports apparel company’s German/Nazi roots gave him some cover for his hate speech.
“The thing about it being Adidas is I can say anti-Semitic s—t, and Adidas can’t drop me,” West said on a recent podcast.
Guess again.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company finally said in a statement after days of shameful silence. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
Adidas executives were widely applauded for their stance, though it left many wondering what took them so long.
But it turns out that West is an equal opportunity offender — most bigots and racists are — and his diversity of disrespect has raised an interesting argument.
West has done plenty to offend Black people, too. His “White Lives Matter” t-shirt made light of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
After a black man, George Floyd, was murdered by a white police officer, West blamed his death on a drug overdose.
West even famously — and stupidly — said 400 years of slavery in America was “a choice” for Black people.
Not once did a single company sever ties with West over any of those horrible things.
The Rev. Conrad Tillard, a radio host and one-time “Hip-Hop” minister who crusaded against rap music’s gangster image, said that instead of celebrating Kanye’s comeuppance, we should be more concerned about his mental health.
Jennefer Witter, CEO of The Boreland Group Inc., a Manhattan-based firm which focuses on minority-owned and women-led companies, agrees.
“Mental illness does not equate racism,” Witter said. “They’re two different things.”
Witter, who also specializes in crisis management, says the damage may be irreparable.
“Nobody needs to cancel Kanye because he’s doing a good enough job of canceling himself,” Witter said. “We should just stop talking about him.””
Former news anchor Dan Rather, a surprise Twitter sensation, doesn’t think we’ve seen the last of Kanye West.
“I am sure Kanye can still get a fashion deal with My Pillow,” Rather wrote.
