Kanye West apologizes after brands continue to drop him
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Despite his apology to paparazzi regarding his controversial comments, the Floyd family continues preparing a $250 million lawsuit against the rapper.
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Rapper Kanye West (Elle)
When Kanye West was asked by paparazzi on Friday about his most recent comments, he said he didn't consider his comments "antisemitic" at the time, and he continued to apologize for his claim that George Floyd died due to fentanyl in his system rather than police officer Derek Chauvin's knee being on his neck.
After Adidas cut ties with the rapper-turned-fashion-designer, he relayed to paparazzi, “When I see that video as a Black person, it hurts my feelings. And I know that police do attack and America is generally racist... And I understand that when we got to say Black Lives Matter, that the idea of it made us feel good together as a people, right?”
He expressed, “So when I questioned the death of George Floyd, it hurt my people,” he continued. “I want to apologize. Because God has showed me by what Adidas is doing, by what the media is doing, I know how it feels to have a knee on my neck now."
On the Drink Champs podcast earlier this month, West claimed that Floyd died as a result of fentanyl consumption rather than Chauvin’s knee on his neck. “They hit (Floyd) with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that,” Ye said. “They said he screamed for his mama; mama was his girlfriend. It’s in the documentary.”
The documentary by conservative political commentator Candace Owens contradicts Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruling that his death was a homicide caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest" by "restraint and neck compression" while being subdued by police.
In light of his controversial comments, the family of George Floyd is preparing a $250 million lawsuit against the rapper.
“So thank you God for humbling me and letting me know how it really felt. Because how could the richest Black men ever be humbled other than to be made to not be a billionaire in front of everyone off of one comment," the rapper expressed.
Adidas, which ended an arrangement with the rapper that has produced the popular Yeezy sneakers collection, has succumbed to a weeks-long pressure campaign, following in the path of other businesses that have also severed ties with West.
Famous retailer, Gap, had ended its partnership with West in September. The rapper had recently said in a podcast that he was key to Adidas' success, commenting, “I can say anti-Semitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
During just the last week, talent agency giant CAA dropped the rapper this week; fashion houses like Balenciaga and Adidas and banking giant JP Morgan Chase have followed suit. As a result, his total wealth plunged from a reported $2 billion to approximately $500 million right after the Adidas tie cut.
