One of Kanye West's biggest fans who launched an online crowdfunding page to help his pop idol regain the billionaire status he lost after his split from Kim Kardashian and after making controversial religious remarks, has had it removed.
The GoFundMe page was created with a target of a billion dollars, despite the American rapper and record producer still having an estimated $400million fortune to his name, according to Forbes magazine. Unsurprisingly, the gesture has backfired, with numerous similar appeals being set up with their creators asking the public to make them billionaires instead of the man who now has the legal name Ye.
The campaign — and backlash — began when it was revealed that the 45-year-old star had $600million wiped off his personal wealth after losing sponsorship deals with Adidas and Gap. Those withdrawals came about as a result of anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper. However, the fundraiser did not last long. It was removed, along with several others, possibly due to violations of GoFundMe's terms and conditions. It was reported that none of the sites drew much attention, not to mention cash.
GoFundMe is a profit-making website that allows people to publicise their causes to raise money for various circumstances, including celebrations, graduations and charity events. The site has also been known to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to help people cope with the loss of a loved one, for cancer treatments and for theme park visits for terminally ill children.
But the Kanye West fundraiser flopped, as did the appeals launched as a backlash or in jest. The most successful parody campaign raised $40, according to information gathered by the Daily Mail.
It all happened shortly after the Glastonbury headliner said he had lost $2billion in one day when companies linked to him continued to sever their ties following his anti-Semitic remarks. The Kanye empire crumbled even further when Adidas dropped his Yeezy shoe line, with Gap, Footlocker, TJ Maxx, and Balenciaga all following in quick succession with withdrawals of support.
Last Wednesday the singer hit a new low when he was expelled from Skechers headquarters, having turned up unannounced to pitch his Yeezy brand to the company, having been dropped by Adidas. Skechers stated: "Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorised filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation. Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech."
That blow to West came after his songs were banned by the high-energy workout company Peloton. And the auction house Christie's, which was to handle the sale of Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototypes worn by West to the 2008 Grammy's, said it would not be proceeding with the event.
Ye was said by Forbes magazine now to be worth just $400 million, made up of cash, real estate, his back catalogue, and a five per cent stake in Skims, the shapewear firm led by his ex-wife. Meanwhile, a TV production company, MRC, said on Monday that it would put on hold a documentary it had made about the rapper. Executives from the team said they could not "support any content that amplifies his platform".
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