Kanye West (“Ye”) has been in the headlines recently for two main reasons: firstly, he wore a controversial shirt at a fashion show in Paris, and secondly, he made anti-Jewish remarks.
Ye, a rapper and past presidential candidate, began his latest controversy by wearing a White Lives Matter shirt at a Paris fashion show.
He followed this up with an interview on Tucker Carlson where he made remarks critical of Jewish people and then went on to post unhinged rants and threats against “Jewish people” on his Twitter.
This hasn’t stopped Ye, however, who was out Wednesday evening for the premiere of Candace Owens’ new film critical of BLM. However, Ye is now facing trouble of a different kind after receiving recent bad news.
What Happened?
Ye has always been a very unstable individual and has gone through many “phases.”
Though his latest comments appear to have landed him in especially hot water. He got a notice from his bank, JP Morgan Chase, telling him their financial relationship with Ye LLC is now terminated.
The letter shown by Owens indicates JP is giving him until Nov. 21 to transfer all his assets out of their institution and didn’t specify what will happen if he does not do so. It is not clear why JP is ending its relationship with Ye, but as a private business, they have that right.
It seems likely it is related to his mockery of BLM and his anti-Jewish remarks, which Ye says were just about standing up to “bad business” and have nothing to do with anti-Semitism.
Ye’s most recent tweet before being locked out claimed he would go “death con 3” on “Jewish People,” so it’s unclear how he would intend for that not to look like a threat.
However, by JP ending its banking relationship with Ye, they are showing a worrying trend, which I will get to next.
Earlier today I learned that @kanyewest was officially kicked out of JP Morgan Chase bank. I was told there was no official reason given, but they sent this letter as well to confirm that he has until late November to find another place for the Yeezy empire to bank. pic.twitter.com/FUskokb6fP
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 12, 2022
What This All Means
Whether or not booting Ye and his money out of their bank is justified or not, this sets a terrible precedent for the future. That’s because goalposts can always be moved down the road.
Ye and his bizarre racist issues are secondary to the disturbing implications of this for finance and the rule of law.
If you can have your bank account shut down for being racist or offending people, how long until it happens to you for offending your neighbor or saying the wrong word at work?
There always seems to be a “reasonable” justification for taking these kinds of steps at first. Though accelerate it further and you eventually end up with communist China.
Should Kamala Harris have her accounts terminated for previously tweeting a bail link to people who were looting and committing criminal acts during the BLM riots of 2020? Perhaps, but we all know it’s never going to happen.
Ye happens to hold strange views and has said unacceptable things. Though he never would have been touched if he was pro-BLM and a leftist, and we all know that perfectly well.
Ye + Candace + @ColbyCovMMA pic.twitter.com/cKOPLatrw9
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 13, 2022
Owens Defends Ye
Owens herself has stood by Ye. Despite being very pro-Jewish, Owens focused on the issues of financial privacy, what’s happening with JP, and its meaning more broadly for conservatives.
Ye’s Black Hebrew Israelite comments and other racist remarks are indeed disturbing. Though the idea of shutting people out of the financial system for offending people is even worse.
This article appeared in StatesmanPost and has been published here with permission.Kanye West & James O’Keefe 👀 pic.twitter.com/68zPSjei5p
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 13, 2022
