Why People Are Demanding Gap To Cut Ties With Kanye West
Now formally known as Ye, Kanye West has made headlines for the past couple of weeks, all pertaining to his previous relationship and divorce with Kim Kardashian.
As of last week, Ye was temporarily suspended from Instagram due to violating its policy against hate speech, harassment and bullying. Hours later, social media users turned to the Gap Instagram page to flood the comments section, urging the brand to cut ties with the rapper.
Ye signed a 10-year agreement in 2020 to design and sell clothes under the Yeezy Gap label. According to Bloomberg, the deal was valued at around $970 million. The partnership aimed to unite an iconic but struggling retailer, which recorded significant losses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with Ye, whose stake in the Yeezy Gap brand is valued at $2.9 billion.
Since its official launch, the Yeezy Gap collection has become a sought-after brand.
But in recent weeks, Ye’s private life has made headlines, as the fashion designer and rapper, himself, has been making his reactions to the divorce very public.
Kardashian originally filed for divorce a year ago. Ye filed his response two months later, agreeing to all the major points, including child custody. Up until now, neither Kardashian nor Ye had discussed the split publicly.
Recently, Ye has vocalized his feelings via Instagram and also released a music video called “Eazy,” where the rapper is seen putting a bag over the head of a figure that resembles SNL comedian, Pete Davidson, who is now officially linked to Kardashian. Ye then proceeds to kidnap Davidson and buries him up to his neck. Seeds are then planted and watered and roses spring up around Davidson’s lookalike’s head.
The performance ends with Ye holding a severed head.
The featuring of Davidson is confirmed through the “Eazy” lyrics, with Ye referencing his 2002 car accident and rapping:
“God saved me from the crash, just so I could beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”
The video ends with “Everyone lived happily ever after, except Skete,” which is crossed out, with “you know who” written underneath.
Skete is the name Ye has given Davidson ever since the comedian has been romantically linked to his ex-wife.
The next screen then says, “Joke, he’s fine.”
And while all of Ye’s statements have caused an uproar, with celebrities commenting in on the divorce, the most recent commentator was The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, who decided to dedicate an entire segment to Ye’s public outbursts, calling what Kardashian is going through as “terrifying.”
“You may not feel sorry for Kim because she’s rich and famous, because of the way she dresses, because she appropriates black culture, because she tells women they’re lazy, broke the internet and then didn’t put it back together, whatever, you hate her,” said Noah said during the segment.
“But what she’s going through is terrifying to watch and shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave. It makes you uncomfortable.”
Noah then spoke about his own experience with domestic violence, saying his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo, was told she was “overreacting” but was ultimately shot in 2009 in the head by his stepfather. Nombuyiselo survived the attack.
Ye then responded to the segment by posting a screenshot of Noah’s Google search result, captioning the image with the lyrics to Kumbaya, replacing the word kumbaya with a racial slur.
Instagram then suspended Ye’s account for 24 hours, preventing him from posting, commenting, or sending DMs. The social media platform cited that the post violated Instagram’s hate speech, harassment and bullying policies.
Instagram users then turned to Gap’s Instagram account, imploring the brand to sever ties with the rapper.
“Please don’t devalue Gap anymore with your Yeezy collab,” said one Instagram user. While another commenter said, “Get rid of Kanye.”
On the other hand, others felt unphased by the drama and said, “Ye is the only reason people buy Gap.” Another said, “I never followed Gap … I had to look for this to comment … Keep Yeezy. You need genius in business.”
Since the entanglement with Noah, Ye has also been barred from performing at the Grammy’s despite his five nominations, which include Album of the Year for Donda, which Ye named after his late mother, and the best rap song for “Jail.”
Ye has received 75 nominations and won 22 Grammys to date.
