JP Morgan Chase cuts ties with Kanye West and his Yeezy brand
US banking giant JP Morgan Chase has decided to sever ties with rapper Kanye West and his Yeezy fashion brand.
A letter from the bank informing West — who now legally goes by the name “Ye” — that it would no longer be doing business with him, was posted on Twitter by conservative commentator Candace Owens.
The letter advised the Stronger hit-maker that he had until November 21 to transfer his business elsewhere.
West has faced a huge backlash in recent weeks.
At the weekend, his Twitter and Instagram accounts were suspended after he posted anti-Semitic messages.
Earlier today I learned that @kanyewest was officially kicked out of JP Morgan Chase bank. I was told there was no official reason given, but they sent this letter as well to confirm that he has until late November to find another place for the Yeezy empire to bank. pic.twitter.com/FUskokb6fP
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 12, 2022
He also came under fire after sporting a shirt featuring the slogan White Lives Matter at Paris Fashion Week on October 3.
The “White Lives Matter” phrase — an appropriation of the Black Lives Matter slogan used to protest racial injustice, discrimination and police brutality — has been adopted by white supremacist organisations in recent years, and is categorised by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate slogan.
According to reports, JP Morgan Chase’s letter pre-dated these controversies, as it was sent on September 20.
The former husband of Kim Kardashian had previously taken to social media to criticise JP Morgan’s leadership and said it would not give him access to the bank’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon.
He then advised Bloomberg in an interview in September that he was ending his relationship with his corporate partners stating it was “time for me to go it alone”.
West appeared to address the issue with JP Morgan Chase ahead of the news breaking when he was approached by Page Six as he left a screening in Nashville on Wednesday.
West said in response to the backlash to his anti-Semitic comments: “Hey, if you call somebody out for bad business, that means you’re being anti-Semitic. I feel happy to have crossed the line of that idea so we can speak openly about things, like getting cancelled by a bank.”
The father-of-four added that he was “the richest black man in American history, that put $140 million in JPMorgan”, before ending the interview by saying that he will “speak at a different time”.
The Standard contacted a representative for JP Morgan Chase who declined to comment.
Kanye West’s representative has yet to come back to us.
