Kanye West has been advised by fellow rapper 50 Cent to “ride off into the sunset,” following a turbulent few weeks that has seen multiple businesses distance themselves from him over his antisemitic comments.
The rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye, kicked off his month of controversy at his October 3 Yeezy fashion show in Paris. He appeared wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “White Lives Matter,” a slogan commonly used by white supremacists as well as opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Amid the backlash, Ye shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a text message exchange with Sean “Diddy” Combs, in which he responded to the rap mogul’s objection to his stunt by saying he would “show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
After Ye’s since-removed post led to his Instagram account being restricted, the musician continued sharing his thoughts on Twitter, where he said that he was “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
The antisemitic statements led to Ye, 45, being locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts, but he made similar remarks in subsequent interviews, prompting a number of businesses to cut ties with him.
Sportswear giant Adidas, which had worked with Ye on his Yeezy sneaker collections since 2015, also announced on Tuesday that it was immediately severing ties with the star, bringing to an end his most valuable business relationship.
Beleaguered musician Ye subsequently saw his net worth plummet from $2 billion to $400 million in a matter of a day, per Forbes.
50 Cent Shares His Take
50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson III, publicly weighed in on the controversy during an October 19 appearance on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning radio show.
“I think he is in a dangerous area,” said 50 Cent of Ye, who also saw backlash for claiming that George Floyd’s death was the result of a fentanyl overdose. “Look, I forgive him for the things that he said because I already identify when something’s going on that I don’t understand.”
“Even the White Lives Matter thing,” he went on. “There’s nothing for me to say about it, though. I watch it take place and I go, ‘OK, yeah,’ that’s him doing what he does, what Kanye would do. Even the original Trump support thing was a little out there for me. Everybody looks at things, they navigate things differently.”
Referencing Ye’s numerous public statements about his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, 50 Cent continued: “One week it’s, ‘I don’t want my kids raised by a white woman.’ Then the next week it’s, ‘I want to go home.'”
“It’s crazy, it’s unpredictable,” he said of Ye, who has spoken of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “Unpredictable is entertaining. You don’t know what’s gonna happen next. And he’s offering a description of crazy.
“But when you start getting in certain areas, they’re not gonna actually be passionate for what’s going on with him. ‘Cause he’s not crazy where he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
50 Cent Posts Ye-Inspired Meme
On Thursday, 50 Cent joined much of social media by taking part in a tongue-in-cheek meme about the numerous entities that have severed ties with Ye.
“Curtis Jackson has reportedly cut ties with 50 Cent,” read a mock headline on a post he shared on his Instagram account.
“I’m getting rid of anybody who can get me f***** up like Kanye right now! LOL,” the “21 Questions” rapper captioned the post, which soon caught Ye’s eye.
Ye, who returned to posting on his Instagram account on Wednesday night, reshared the post, adding the caption: “We got Donda school designs we need to build with 50 in Houston.”
“OK YE let’s build a school in Houston but go cool off,” 50 Cent responded in a since-deleted post viewed by Newsweek, adding that his fellow rapper is “hot right now” with “the Feds all on you!”
It was reported on Thursday that Ye’s California-based Christian K-12 prep school Donda Academy was this week suddenly closed down without explanation.
