Kanye West Says He’s Lost $2 Billion Getting Canceled Over Controversial Remarks

Rapper Kanye West attends the WSJ Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at MOMA in New York City on Nov. 6, 2019. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Musician Kanye West is back on Instagram after a lockout and said in a post Thursday that he had lost $2 billion in a single day after Adidas cut ties with him and Forbes said he had dropped off its billionaire list.

“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day,” West wrote. “And I’m still alive.”

The Epoch Times has been unable to verify the $2 billion figure West cited in his post.

West, who changed his legal name to Ye, struck a defiant tone in his post, downplaying the significance of the financial hit he’s taken as a number of businesses have cut ties with him.

“The money is not who I am. The people is who I am,” he wrote.

He also made an apparent reference to critics who have accused him in the past of “hate speech” by saying in his post on Instagram that “this is love speech” adding, “God still loves you.”

‘Not Enough’

West’s post was addressed to Ari Emmanuel, the CEO of a Hollywood media entity Endeavor, who in a recent op-ed in the Financial Times called for corporations to cut ties with West.

“It’s not enough for Twitter to lock the rapper Kanye West out of his accounts following his anti-Semitic tweet that he was going to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” West’s business partners across the fashion and entertainment industries also need to speak out and take action,” Emmanuel wrote in the Oct. 19 opinion piece.

West’s comment that Emmanuel cited appeared to be referring to the U.S. Armed Forces’ heightened readiness status DEFCON 3.

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight, but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” West wrote. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jews also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

The post was later removed by Twitter for violating its rules, a spokesperson confirmed to multiple outlets.

Companies Cut Ties

A number of companies have since severed their business relationships with West, including Adidas, Balenciaga, Foot Locker, JPMorgan Chase, Peloton, TJ Maxx, and Vogue. After Adidas cut ties with him, West reportedly dropped off the Forbes list of billionaires.

“With that gone, Ye is no longer a billionaire,” according to Forbes, estimating the value of the German footwear firm’s deal with West at around $1.5 billion. Forbes now estimates West’s net worth at around $400 million.

The fallout came after West made a string of controversial comments on social media, with some alleged to be antisemitic. West has repeatedly denied charges of racism or antisemitism.

After getting locked out of Twitter and Instagram over posts deemed controversial, West announced he was buying free speech-championing social media app Parler.

“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” West said in a statement.

The fashion and music mogul told Bloomberg in an interview that Parler is for people like him, who have been censored by other platforms.

“We’re using this as a net for the people who have been bullied by the thought police to come and speak their mind,” he told the outlet.

“Express how you feel. Express what’s tied up inside of you. Express what’s been haunting you. I use social media as my therapist,” he said.