People are starting anti-Kanye West campaigns online to become billionaires instead of him, after fans rallied to raise money for the star in the wake of anti-semitic comments.
West said he has been ‘beat[en] to a pulp’ and that ‘unknown powers’ are trying to ‘destroy’ his life, amid backlash for anti-semitic comments about ‘going death con 3 on Jewish people’, which got him banned from Twitter.
He was also kicked off Instagram for saying: "Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me."
A number of brands then announced they had dropped West, with Adidas thought to be the one that hit hardest, with Forbes reporting that the sportswear brand accounted for $1.5 billion of his net worth.
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As a result, Ye soon lost his billionaire status, even claiming he lost $2 billion in one day.
A number of fans soon took it upon themselves to help West regain his wealth, setting up several GoFundMe campaigns to raise a billion dollars for the star.
While many of these have since been deleted, others have now retaliated by start fundraisers of their own – asking people to donate money so that they could become a billionaire instead of West.
One, which has so far raised $70 of the $1 billion goal, simply says in the description: “If you dislike Kanye West, please donate to me instead.”
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Another says: “Let's have some fun and make me a Billionaire. If you can't stand Kanye West, or Ye, make me a Billionaire. I promise you won't regret it. I will buy a mansion right next to his. Thanks.”
A third campaigner asks why we should help West regain his billionaire status, adding: “The way I see it, why give it back to him? He lost his status by no one’s fault but his own. Do not reward Kanye for his actions, reward me instead.”
Last month, West appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored to discuss his comments, initially standing by what he said.
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When asked if he regretted saying what he did about Jewish people, West replied: "No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not."
But when challenged by Morgan, who said his anti-semitic comments were 'as racist as anything you say you've been through', West said he did feel that what he’d said was racist.
"Yeah obviously, that's why I said it,” he explained.
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"Yes, I fought fire with fire, I'm not here to get hosed down, it's a different type of freedom fighter.”
Later on in the interview, West also offered up an apology for the 'hurt and confusion' he had caused, saying: "You know I will say I'm sorry for the people that I hurt with the 'defcon', the confusion that I caused.
"I feel like I caused hurt and confusion and I'm sorry for the families of the people that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through, and I used my platform where you say hurt people."
Topics: Kanye West
Jess Hardiman