US rapper Kanye West has responded to being dropped by a number of top partnerships, including Adidas, talent agency CAA, film and television programming company MRC and luxury fashion label Balenciaga, because of his anti-Semitic comments on social media, reports “Variety”.
“Ari Emanuel. I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. 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,” West wrote on Instagram.
The post comes days after Ariel Zev (Ari) Emanuel, CEO of the entertainment and media agency Endeavor, urged companies to stop doing business with West.
Entertainment industry figures, including Emanuel and the Gersh Agency's Bob Gersh, urged companies that work with West to cut ties with the rapper, according to “Variety”.
Kim Kardashian, West’s ex-wife, also issued a short statement via Twitter, writing: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”