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Ye’s Controversial Swastika T-Shirt Site Pulled by Shopify
Rapper Ye, previously known as Kanye West, has faced backlash following the removal of a website that sold t-shirts featuring a swastika. This development came shortly after a Super Bowl advertisement, where Ye directed viewers to visit Yeezy.com to purchase the highly provocative shirt priced at $20.
The website remained active until Tuesday morning, at which point Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce platform hosting the site, took action. A spokesperson for Shopify confirmed that the site was removed for violating the company’s terms of service, emphasizing that Ye’s merchandising practices were not in line with their authentic commerce standards. The storefront has since been replaced with a notification stating, “This store is unavailable.”
Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, elaborated in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the owners of the website had been given an opportunity to demonstrate compliance with Shopify’s policies, which they failed to do within the allotted timeframe. He expressed disappointment regarding the nature of the merchandise sold, stating that the initial intent of the site had shifted away from genuine commerce practices.
Finkelstein, who identifies as a proud member of the Jewish community, conveyed his personal dismay over the incident, highlighting the emotional weight it carried for him. He remarked on the moral implications of the situation, illustrating the conflict between entrepreneurship and personal values.
In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, Ye sparked controversy with social media posts that expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and self-identification as a Nazi. Subsequently, his account on X, formerly Twitter, was deactivated, leading to a profile message indicating that “this account doesn’t exist.”
The Super Bowl advertisement depicted Ye in a dentist’s chair, making claims about his recent expenditure on cosmetic dental work. He urged viewers to visit Yeezy.com, which unexpectedly shifted focus to a divisive product and has now vanished from the e-commerce platform.
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