A top talent agent has called for Apple and Spotify to ban Kanye West’s music from their platforms following his antisemitic controversy.
Ari Emanuel, the CEO of William Morris Endeavor, made the demand in an op-ed for The Financial Times and called for businesses to speak out against antisemitism.
“Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience. There should be no tolerance anywhere for West’s antisemitism,” he wrote.
“This is a moment in history where the stakes are high and being open about our values, and living them, is essential. Silence and inaction are not an option.”
West remains locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts following a string of antisemitic tirades over the past week, which he has so far refused to apologise for.
Mr Emanuel added: “Some of West’s behaviour has been dismissed over time, citing mental illness, given that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after being hospitalized in 2016. However, mental illness is not an excuse for racism, hatred or antisemitism.
“West is not just any person — he is a pop culture icon with millions of fans around the world. And among them are young people whose views are still being formed.”
The rapper said he was “absolutely not” sorry for his string of antisemitic comments during an interview on Wednesday with Piers Morgan on the UK’s TalkTV.
During the interview, he called Joe Biden “f***ing ret***ed” for not meeting with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk and even stormed out halfway through the interview before returning to complete it.
“You know, one per cent of the world are placed in power, and ninety-nine per cent of the world are the audience,” West told Morgan.
“So that one per cent of the world – this idea of a united nations – this is the world that needs to come together.
“Here’s the obvious go-to: Biden doesn’t listen to Elon Musk. The President of the United States does not have meetings with Elon Musk.
“That’s f***ing ret***ed.” And he added: “I know I’m not supposed say that Biden, but that’s that’s f***ing ret***ed Biden.”
West was unclear about why he wanted Mr Biden to meet with Mr Musk, who has publicly insulted the president on Twitter.
In April senior officials from the Biden administration met with Mr Musk and other automotive leaders, including General Motors chief executive Mary Barra to discuss electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
