Ari Emanuel is urging companies working with Kanye "Ye" West to end ties with the rapper after he made anti-Semitic comments.
In the Financial Times , published online on Wednesday, Endeavor's boss wrote that West's business partners, including Apple, Spotify, Adidas and companies that benefit from his music, such as his touring partners, should stop working with him. Emanuel also said Parler's parent company, which announced on Monday it was buying West's right-wing social media platform, should refuse to sell it to him.
"West is not just anyone – he is a pop culture icon with millions of fans around the world," Emanuel wrote. “Among them there are young people whose opinion is still being formed. That's why we all need to speak up. Hatred and anti-Semitism should have no place in our society, no matter how much money is at stake."
Emanuel's essay cited a 2006 article he wrote for HuffPost , in which he said that entertainment companies should stop working with Mel Gibson after he made anti-Semitic comments when he was arrested for drunk driving. Emanuel explained in a new comment that he recommended Gibson for the roles after the actor's public apology and "commitment to understand the consequences of his actions," and is willing to help West do the same.
“We are all capable of learning and growing, and if the West wants to learn about the history and implications of anti-Semitism and the conspiracy theories it contains, if it wants to reach out to religious leaders including rabbis, Muslim leaders, Christian leaders — happy to help,” the mogul wrote.
Until then, Emanuel urged business leaders to speak up and thanked his clients LeBron James and Maverick Carter for not interviewing West, who was writing for the talk show The Store . Carter announced last week that the interview would be canceled due to West's hate speech.
Emanuel added that "those who continue to do business with the West are channeling its misguided hatred." “Western anti-Semitism cannot be tolerated anywhere. This is a time in history when the stakes are high and it's important to be open and live by our values. Silence and inaction is not an option."
