Kanye West faces the consequences of his actions

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     October 25, 2022 You have to read pretty far down on most news stories about Kanye West to get to this part, so I'm going to put it up top: Adidas, the company that [just cut ties with Ye]( over his recent anti-Semitic remarks, was founded by a Nazi named Adolf "Adi" Dassler. His brother, also a Nazi, founded Puma. During World War II, Dassler's factory, manned in part by forced laborers, produced sneakers and munitions. Per the New York Times, "It was only thanks to the sworn statement of a Jewish friend that he was allowed to found the present-day company after World War II ended." This is important context when considering Adidas' decision drop its contract with Ye, as the musician is now known, after he made a series of anti-Semitic comments, including tweeting earlier this month that he was going to go "death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE." This weekend, a group of people who [for years]( have been hanging anti-Semitic banners above a highway in Los Angeles added to their collection [a new one]( reading "KANYE IS RIGHT ABOUT THE JEWS." Only after this outrageous display did Adidas decide to end its lucrative Yeezy collaboration with the artist. As someone who is both Jewish and a longtime fan of Kanye West, I feel surprisingly little conflict about his recent outbursts. Maybe it's because he's always been, [to quote Barack Obama](, a "jackass." Or because he, like Donald Trump, whom he supported, has for years been testing how outrageous his comments can get before he gets "canceled." I still like his music, but it seems like a no-brainer to me that Adidas should sever the contract—and that it should have done so weeks ago. Kanye's personal opinion of Jewish people doesn't worry me so much as the violence it's bound to inspire. I thought that the writer Eve Andrews, alluding to the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, summed up the situation very effectively: "anti semitism feels very far off and abstract right up until someone shows up to your family’s temple with an assault rifle, which happened four years ago this week to me personally," [she tweeted](, prior to the Adidas news. "It will happen again thanks to Kanye west’s words, I am sure of it. but get your sneakers!" —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [UC Press - Mukunda]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [How Wisconsin Became the GOP’s Laboratory for Dismantling Democracy]( Republicans are trying to make state politics voter-proof. If they prevail, the next coup attempt may well succeed. BY ARI BERMAN [Fall Fundraising Drive] We need to raise $325,000 over the next month to help fund the hard-hitting journalism you get from us. [It's a pivotal moment]( for our democracy, accountability, and so much more—but you already know that, you're reading Mother Jones. If you can right now, please support our work with a donation so we're ready for the hard work ahead. [Donate]( [Trending] [Arizona GOP candidate Kari Lake airs an ad featuring a homophobic and extremist pastor.]( BY DAVID CORN   [Young people are steering clear of fossil-fuel careers.]( BY KATE YODER   [It’s nearly Halloween, so of course Republicans are freaking out about drug-laced Skittles.]( BY ABBY VESOULIS   [This Supreme Court term is all about white grievance.]( BY PEMA LEVY Advertisement [UC Press - Mukunda]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [“I Don’t Care If It Costs Me the Next Election. I’m Going to Do What’s Right.”]( The unorthodox political rise of John Fetterman. BY ABBY VESOULIS Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755