A man on TikTok burnt his Yeezy shoes made by Ye — the performer formerly known as Kanye West — and called on trainer brand owners and other companies to do the same following the artist's recent anti-Semitic comments.
Fans may have a hard time reselling the trainers, as the large high-end online reseller platform — The RealReal — has banned Ye's products. His fashion lines have since been dropped by Gap and adidas.
“In response to these anti-Semitic messages and his actions, we are no longer accepting items associated with Kanye West or his brand, including Yeezy and Yeezy x Adidas,” The RealReal told Vice News this week.
“We represent consignors not brands, and since we have already accepted and listed these items prior to when the event took place, we will not accept any future items.”
Ye recently made anti-Semitic comments, using offensive tropes about the community and threatening on Twitter to go “def con 3 on Jewish people”.
CNN reported on Thursday that the musician had wanted to name his 2018 album after Adolf Hitler.
However, his music continues to play on streaming platforms, though exercise platform Peloton says it will cease using his songs in their classes.
Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek told Reuters earlier this week that music from the artist did not violate anti-hate policies.
Recent anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper are “just awful” and would have warranted removal from Spotify for violating its policies, which prohibit hate speech, if they had been on a podcast or recording, Mr Ek said.
Universal Music's Def Jam label, which owns the copyright to Ye's recordings from 2002 through 2016, and continued distributing his releases until last year, issued a statement condemning the artist's remarks, saying “there is no place for anti-Semitism in our society”.
It did not ask for the removal of Ye's recordings, many of which are critically acclaimed works. The music can also be found on Apple Music and YouTube Music.
Ye's Donda Sports Agency has also seen departures by Boston Celtrics' Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald.
Reuters contributed reporting
