The rapper buys the right network Parler.
(Photo: imago/MediaPunch)
Provocation is a rapper’s daily business. Speaking out truths, exaggerating them and thus being heard – everything is okay. But Kanye West, who changed his name to Ye last year, goes further. With anti-Semitic comments and other insults, the 45-year-old crosses borders and causes moral, human and soon financial damage.
The purchase of the right-wing social network Parler on Monday is the latest affront and poses some dangers for its business partner Adidas. Unlike the fashion chain Gap, the sports group has not completely separated from the musician. Adidas only announced at the beginning of the month that it would review the collaboration.
An understandable decision so far. According to analysts, with West’s fashion label “Yeezy” Adidas at times turned over more than one billion dollars a year. A lot of money, also for the US rapper, who will receive hundreds of millions from the deal.
The billionaire can easily afford to take over the Parler network. A purchase price was not mentioned, but with its modest almost 40,000 active users, the start-up should not have been too expensive compared to other tech companies.
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The network is committed to completely free expression of opinion, no matter how extreme. Parler became known in January 2021 when he stormed the US Capitol. Supporters of then President Donald Trump coordinated on the platform. Google and Apple then threw the app out of their app stores for a while.
West is aiming for a sacking
Adidas has shown a lot of patience. When it became known that CEO Kasper Rorsted would be leaving next year, West announced on Instagram: “Kasper Rorsted is dead.” Even if he deleted the entry a short time later, the bad taste was in the world.
West is clearly aiming to be kicked out by Adidas. He has often complained about the terms of the deal, which runs until 2026. He would like to become self-employed, he announced a few days ago in an interview with the financial service Bloomberg.
A sober consideration shows: Adidas should let him go. West has become too much of a burden. The escalation will increase. There is a threat of a boycott from important groups of buyers who want nothing to do with T-shirt inscriptions such as “White Lives Matters” or anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Adidas’ brand is in jeopardy. No matter how disappointed the shareholders may be, West has to go.
More: Kanye West buys platform Parler – but the numbers of right-wing networks are meager