Why Kanye West can’t sell controversial ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirts

Kanye West continues to see his brand tank over the past few weeks. West, previously a billionaire, has seen his net worth shrink to a relatively paltry $400 million according to Forbes. That, after several high-profile companies cut ties with the rapper in the aftermath of his anti-semitic statements and wearing a T-shirt that said ‘White Lives Matter’ West, who officially changed his name to Ye earlier this year, was slammed for wearing the “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy collection show in Paris. As per The Guardian, the T-shirt, which has an image of Pope John Paul II on the front and the words White Lives Matter in white on the back, was also donned by runway models. Ye was accompanied by Candace Owens, a right-leaning commentator who attended the show as his guest.

Let’s take a look at why Ye can’t sell White Lives Matter T-shirts and the uproar over the phrase: Why can’t Ye sell the controversial T-shirts? Because the phrase, in an ironic twist, now belongs to two Black radio hosts. As per CNN, Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward, hosts of the show Civic Cipher, which deals with racial justice, became the legal owners of the phrase’s trademark on clothing last month. The LA Times reported that the trademark request was filed in Jae Gibson’s name at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s database on 3 October. Ward told CNN it was a ‘difficult decision’ and that they agreed only “once it was clear that someone stood to gain significant profit from it, because as you’ve seen, even though he (West) says some really hurtful, divisive and sometimes crazy things, he has a bit of a zealot following and every time he releases something, it sells out.” Interestingly, the radio hosts were given the trademark by a long-time listener of their show, the website Capital B Atlanta reported. [caption id=“attachment_11573071” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Quinton Ward and
Ramses Ja hosts the show Civic Cipher. Image courtesy: civiccipher.com[/caption] “This person who first procured it didn’t really love owning it, because the purpose was not necessarily to get rich off of it; the purpose was to make sure that other people didn’t get rich off of that pain,” Ja was quoted as saying by the website. The website further quoted Ja as saying that the original applicant “felt we were in a much more public position to use it to the advantage of Black folks.” The Black community is “beyond rapping and singing,” and the show goes beyond what a listener would typically hear on a hip-hop radio station, Ja told CNN. “We deal with police violence, housing inequality, environmental racism, we deal with maternal health outcomes,” he noted, “things that disproportionately affect Black and brown communities.” Why is the phrase controversial? The chant, which emerged as a counter to Black Lives Matter after the death of George Floyd in 2020, is also a favourite catchphrase of white nationalists such as the Ku Klux Klan.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, White Lives Matter is also a neo-Nazi group.

White Lives Matter (WLM) describes itself as “dedicated to promotion of the white race and taking positive action as a united voice against issues facing our race,” in the words of its website. “The fiber and integrity our nation was founded on is being unraveled … [by] homosexuality and [racially] mix[ed] relationships,” it says. “Illegal immigration, healthcare, housing, welfare, employment, education, social security, our children, our veterans and active military and their rights … are the issues we face as white Americans. The laws and immoral orders the Obama administration are passing are drastically … targeting everything the white way of life holds dear.” Asked why he wore it, West said in a Fox News interview: “I do certain things from a feeling, I like, just channel the energy, it just feels right.” Ye’s troubled waters Ye has earned more of a reputation for stirring up controversy since 2016, when he was hospitalised in Los Angeles because of what his team called stress and exhaustion. It was later revealed that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For weeks, Ye has made antisemitic comments in interviews and social media, including a Twitter post earlier this month that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the US defence readiness condition scale known as DEFCON. His posts led to his suspension from both Twitter and Instagram. After he was suspended from Twitter and Facebook, Ye offered to buy Parler, a conservative social network with no gatekeeper. He later apologised for the tweet. Sportswear manufacturer Adidas recently announced that it was ending a partnership with Ye that helped make him a billionaire, saying it doesn’t tolerate antisemitism and hate speech. The German sneaker giant said it expected that the decision to immediately stop production of its Yeezy products would cause a hit to its net income of up to 250 million euros ($246 million). The company had stuck with Ye through other controversies after he suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast.” As per NDTV, Ye was quoted as saying, “God has shown me by what Adidas is doing and by what, by what the media is doing, I know how it feels to have a knee on my neck now”.

That was an apparent reference to the death of Floyd.

[caption id=“attachment_8431801” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image. AP[/caption] Other companies also have announced they were cutting ties with Ye, including Foot Locker, Gap, TJ Maxx, JPMorgan Chase bank and Vogue magazine. An MRC documentary about him was also scrapped. The Chicago-born star was for years part of one of the world’s most famous power couples thanks to his marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian. But Kardashian filed for divorce last year after US media reported the pair were living separately and dealing with “regular relationship issues”. After West and retail brand Gap announced an end to a partnership last month, Ye said he had plans to open his own stores. The announcement capped months of social media complaints from West, which included accusations that he had been left out of the creative process and criticisms of marketing delays. “GAP left Ye no choice but to terminate their collaboration agreement because of GAP’s substantial noncompliance,” wrote the artist’s lawyer, Nicholas Gravante, in a letter. However, the controversy around his business ventures has not dimmed West’s success in the music world, as the star continues to enjoy hits and praise from critics. His album “Donda” was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2022 Grammys. With inputs from agencies  Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .