Comparing Company Statements About Kanye West

Since his anti-semitic posts and after pressure from consumers and industry leaders, companies are dropping ties with Kanye West. Here are several statements for students to compare. These messages could be considered positive or bad news, but they are all persuasive. Which demonstrate more courage and compassion?

MRC Entertainment: Company leaders wrote a personal note about their decision to stop distribution of a Kanye West documentary. They explain his flawed logic about Jewish people and call out others for being silent.

Balenciaga: The fashion company gave only a short statement to WWD: “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”

CAA: Similarly, CAA Talent Agency reportedly dropped West as a client but gave no statement.

United: This talent agency’s CEO, Jeremy Zimmer, was more vocal. In an email, he encouraged staff to boycott Kanye West.

Adidas: After much pressure, including a dropping share price and a tweet and petition from the Anti-Defamation League, Adidas finally announced an end to their partnership. The Adidas statement identified what Kanye (“Ye”) did: “[H]is recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.” But the rest of the statement focuses on the financial impact. Fun fact: Adi Dassler, the founder of Adidas, was a member of the Nazi party.

Gap: In as short statement, Gap announced the end of its Yeezy partnership. Posted the same day as Adidas’s announcement, the message doesn’t mention that West ended the relationship in September for breach of contract. The current decision is to stop selling products that were in the pipeline.