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Kanye West Faces Backlash for Selling Controversial T-Shirts
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has sparked outrage by offering T-shirts featuring a swastika on his official website, a symbol synonymous with the Nazi Party and its leader Adolf Hitler since the 1920s.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) characterizes the swastika as “the most significant and notorious of hate symbols” since the conclusion of World War II. Ye’s history of making antisemitic statements, including expressing admiration for Hitler and Nazi ideology, has drawn considerable scrutiny.
Priced at $20, the T-shirts are currently the sole item available on yeezy.com, with Shopify managing the order processing. The e-commerce platform has not yet issued a statement regarding its involvement with Ye’s controversial merchandise.
In an unusual marketing move, Ye aired a local ad during the Super Bowl to promote his website. The ad featured Ye sitting in a dentist’s chair, discussing his recent dental upgrades—specifically, jewel-encrusted teeth. While the advertisement did not mention the T-shirts, it effectively directed viewers to his website. The ad was limited to the Los Angeles market, as reported by Variety.
In the ad, Ye mentioned, “I spent, like, all the money for the commercial on these new teeth. Once again I had to shoot it on the iPhone. Um… Um…. Go to Yeezy.com.”
This merchandise release comes in the wake of a series of antisemitic remarks from Ye on social media, leading to the deactivation of his account on platform X, which previously served as Twitter. Specifically, his account is no longer active.
The ADL has condemned the sale, stating, “As if we needed further proof of Kanye’s antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website — a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika.” The organization emphasizes the historical context of the swastika as a tool used to instill fear and motivate followers in the 20th century, pointing out that its threat persists in contemporary society, particularly against targeted groups facing antisemitism and white supremacy.
Additionally, the ADL noted that the T-shirt is labeled HH-01, a designation interpreted as code that could be associated with “Heil Hitler.”
In its statement, the ADL criticized Ye’s actions, saying, “Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience.”
When approached for comment regarding this controversy, representatives for Ye indicated, “We have no comment at this time.”
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