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Summary

Skechers Kicked Kanye West Out Of Its HQ & He Says He Lost $2 Billion 'In One Day'

"The money is not who I am."

Senior Writer

Kanye West returned to Instagram on Thursday morning and responded to being dropped by several big-name brands following his posts deemed to be antisemitic.

"I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I'm still alive," Ye wrote in his comeback post, referring to the very costly end of his Adidas deal. "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." He captioned the photo "LOVE SPEECH."

Ye has been accused of hate speech for his tweets about Jewish people, many of which have verged into conspiracy theory territory.

The tweets have since been deleted, but many screenshots were taken before West's account was banned on the platform earlier this month. Instagram also restricted him, although he has since returned to the platform.

West's comeback post came just hours after he was told to leave the Skechers shoe company in Manhattan Beach, California, on Wednesday after he showed up unannounced, which was confirmed by the company in a press release.

The organization confirmed to PEOPLE that the rapper came to the building with a camera crew and had to be "escorted" out of the building.

"Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West," the company said in a statement to PEOPLE. "We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech."

West didn't immediately address the incident, but he did post a fake article on Insta titled "Ye has reportedly cut ties with Kanye West."

His other post about losing $2 billion was directed at Ari Emmanuel, CEO of the entertainment agency Endeavor. Emmanuel wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times following West's antisemitic comments, urging companies to stop working with the rapper.


On Tuesday, Adidas ended its Yeezy brand collaboration with the rapper saying it does "not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech." The move is expected to cost the company about €250 million (US $246 million) this year, the company said in a statement.

That same day Forbes announced Ye dropped off its billionaire list.

This all stems back to Paris Fashion Week when Ye wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt to a show.

Many celebrities and fans condemned his actions and he responded by lashing out at many of them, including his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, as well as Justin Bieber and Gigi Hadid.

He then shared several posts on social media involving Jewish people and various conspiracy theories.

In one instance, he said he would go "death con 3" on "JEWISH PEOPLE."

Other companies that have cut ties with Ye since then include Balenciaga, Gap and his talent agency, CAA.

A completed documentary about West has also been scrapped in light of the American rapper's antisemitic comments, Variety reports.

Ye has been open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, but some people are criticizing fans for saying it's played a part in his recent actions.

Howard Stern addressed it during an episode of his SiriusXM radio show in early October, according to Variety.

“I almost don’t want to give any energy to this Kanye West character,” Stern said. “I don’t know much about Kanye West. I’m not big into the rap scene, but, he is, you know — I’m really tired of people excusing his behavior, by saying, ‘Well, he’s just mentally ill.'”

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or mental health concerns, please reach out to a trusted peer, parent or health care professional. You can also contact the Crisis Services Canada helpline, which is available 24 hours a day, or consult these additional resources. If you need immediate assistance, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. Support is available.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

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      Asymina Kantorowicz (she/her) was a Senior Writer for Narcity Media. She has worked at Yahoo Canada, CTV News Vancouver Island, CTV News Channel, and CHCH News. Over the past eight years, she took on various newsroom roles and helped produce award-winning newscasts. Loving the fast-paced environment of any newsroom, she helped cover stories like the 2016 royal visit to Victoria, the 2019 B.C. manhunt, and provincial elections. She had an MA in journalism and a BA in media from Western University. She moved from Toronto to Victoria a few years ago and loved being close to the ocean.

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