A completed documentary about Kanye West has been shelved following his recent antisemitic remarks – with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian saying hate speech is “never OK or excusable”.
Studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley – from the documentary’s production company MRC – said in a statement on Monday that they “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform”.
The 45-year-old US rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, has also been dropped by talent agency CAA in the wake of the controversy.
And reality TV star Kardashian, 42, wrote on Twitter and Instagram: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”
West was recently barred from posting on Instagram and Twitter over posts that the social media companies said violated their terms of service.
The artist has made a string of controversial remarks recently.
On top of saying he was going to go to “death con 3” on Jewish people, he has also suggested slavery was a “choice” and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast”.
Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu are co-founders and co-CEOs of MRC Entertainment. Scott Tenley is MRC’s chief business officer.
In a lengthy memo, the trio discussed the history of antisemitism.
They wrote: “Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years – the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain.
“This song was performed acapella in the time of the Pharaohs, Babylon and Rome, went acoustic with The Spanish Inquisition and Russia’s Pale of Settlement, and Hitler took the song electric. Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era.”
Earlier this month, West was widely criticised for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his own collection’s show at Paris Fashion Week.
Shelving the documentary comes after the French fashion house Balenciaga and US banking firm JP Morgan both cut ties with West.
Others in Hollywood – including other members of Kim Kardashian’s family – have condemned antisemitism.
However, some have supported the rapper, with demonstrators unfurling banners praising West on a Los Angeles flyover over the weekend.