The ending of Ye’s relationship with Adidas has reportedly cost him his billionaire status. Photograph: Mark J Rebilas/USA Today Sports

Ye has been criticized for his right-wing opinions and statements for years, but it is only now that they are affecting his career

Due to recent anti-Black and antisemitic statements, Kanye West has lost his talent representation, ties to important fashion businesses, and other profitable partnerships in the last two weeks.

Many are wondering whether the fashion and music mogul’s actions have put an end to the Black American rapper’s decades-long career since Adidas cancelled its rumored €250 million contract with West on Tuesday, purportedly losing the rapper his billionaire status.

Ye, previously Kanye West, has been involved in conflicts before.

Before the most recent uproar, Ye’s acts and remarks have consistently drawn criticism, and many people accused his collaborators in the music and fashion industries of encouraging disrespectful conduct.

Ye has endured a variety of criticisms since 2016. He faced criticism earlier that year for openly endorsing former president Donald Trump and embracing right-wing beliefs, including donning the notorious red “Make America Great Again” hat. Ye made the announcement that he will purchase the far-right social networking platform Parler this year.

Ye delivered a monologue in 2016 while playing on his eventually canceled Saint Pablo tour, praising Trump and slamming his colleagues musicians Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

Ye subsequently had a psychological emergency while on the tour and was hospitalized. Although he has received a bipolar disorder diagnosis and spoken about his disease, medical professionals and campaigners caution that his racism and mental health issues are different issues.

Ye has since made a lot of anti-Black remarks. He previously referred to slavery as a “choice” and said that abolitionist Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves,” both of which sparked more criticism.

More recently, George Floyd’s family revealed intentions to sue Ye for remarks he made claiming Floyd died from fentanyl addiction, despite the fact that a jury found that Floyd was really killed by Minneapolis police officers and the crime was caught on cellphone video.

Numerous people have also criticized Ye for harassing his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her ex-boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson. Ye threatened Davidson in a series of screenshots shared on his Instagram account.

Ye boasted on social media at one point that Davidson deactivated his Instagram account in response to increasing threats from Ye and his supporters.

Ye has been charged with bullying past partners on many occasions. In 2010, two years after their two-year relationship ended, Ye’s ex-girlfriend Amber Rose claimed that Ye had abused her for ten years.

Ye faced intense backlash this month after presenting T-shirts at Paris Fashion Week with the anti-black slogan “White Lives Matter.” Later, he distributed those T-shirts to Los Angeles’s homeless population.

A Black Vogue fashion editor who criticized Ye’s collection was publicly insulted by Ye via his Instagram account. This prompted Vogue to rebuke Ye for his comments and to indicate that the magazine would no longer collaborate with him.

Soon after, Ye made a number of antisemitic statements and outbursts that seemed to be the last straw for many. As a result, companies openly severed connections with the musician and urged others to do the same. Additionally, Ye’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have been shut out.

Ye was fired by the talent agency CAA on Monday due to his comments. After his contract with the production business Def Jam terminated in 2021, he is no longer affiliated with it. According to the New York Times, streaming platforms like Apple Songs and Spotify are under pressure to discontinue playing Ye’s music.

After Ye participated in the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week, the company announced that their relationship was over.

According to Kering, the parent company of Balenciaga, “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship with this artist and has no plans for future projects related to this artist.” According to Insider, the company also took down references to Ye from their website, including a partnership with Yeezy Gap.

Ye said in September that he had ended a cooperation with the corporation, expressing his public unhappiness with the Gap brand. By declaring on Tuesday that it is “taking urgent actions to remove Yeezy Gap merchandise from our shops” and shutting down the Yeezy Gap website,” Gap responded that it has already taken action to terminate its association with Ye.

On Tuesday, Ye lost the representation of two more sportsmen, including Aaron Donald of the NFL and forward Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics. Ye’s Donda Sports agency had been their agent.

Donda Sports “represent[ed] education, activism, disruption,” according to Brown, who said this in a recent interview. “It represented single-parent households, and a lot more people are involved in something like that,” Brown said in the interview with the Boston Globe.

The next statement from Brown on Tuesday, though, struck a different note: “I… stand strongly against any antisemitism, hate speech, misrepresentation, and oppressive rhetoric of any kind.”

“Hateful words and actions have consequences and… we must do better as human beings,” Donald continued in his own statement.

Ye’s remarks and deeds have severely damaged the artist’s financial situation in addition to his social status.

Ye was removed off the Forbes list of billionaires as of Tuesday as the number of people who had stopped working with the entrepreneur grew.

Thanks to Gloria Oladipo at The Guardian whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.