Sincerely, Saskia

Kanye’s reputation precedes him, but for the last couple years it’s been for all the wrong reasons.  

Our parents, teachers and everyone else in authority told us our whole lives that bad behaviour shouldn’t be rewarded. However, that life lesson doesn’t seem to apply to the celebrity elite – that is unless you’re a woman or standing up for something that’s actually important.

This month alone, Chappell Roan has been banned from performing in Rio De Janeiro for something her security guard did and Zara Larsson lost a million-dollar deal because she replied to a joke about abortion. It’s no surprise that the standards female artists are held to aren’t the same as their male counterparts, but this issue isn’t solely gendered (even though the scales often tip to that side). Going back a bit further, Bob Vylan had gigs and appearances cancelled because of their IDF chant and were dragged in the press for weeks.  

None of these incidents even fill a page in Ye’s book of indiscretions and yet, here he is about to perform all three nights of Wireless Festival – just as Drake did last year.

I don’t know whether the reaction he garners is worth brands risking backing him or whether they just have zero integrity, but there are a lot of artists out there who could have headlined Wireless and not have caused such a divisive reaction.

To be the main attraction at a festival that people come from all over to visit is the kind of musical achievement you deserve for your contributions to industry. And sure, Ye has contributed to the industry in a way that no one can take from him but he’s been rewarded for that long enough. I’ve said numerous times, I’m not a fan of separating the art from the artist, especially when your attention, loyalty and disposable income is funding someone who uses their platform to attack whole communities.

Maybe I just have a long memory and hold a grudge, but why should we support the man who said ‘slavery was a choice’, wore ‘white lives matter’ attire, admitted to hitting a woman, made a song called ‘Heil Hitler’ and created merchandise with a swastika on it? Can’t we just thank him for what he’s contributed and leave it at that?

Whatever happened to consequences for our actions?

Sure, he was dropped by Adidas and Balenciaga as a result but recently signed a deal with Gamma founded by former Apple exec, Larry Jackson. His fans will defend him even when he’s crashing out on Twitter and calling Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s child a r****d. And I’m willing to bet money that tickets for Wireless sell out this summer… or at the very least have low availability.

It irks me that we can’t even get on the same page about not rewarding problematic people whose actions are genuinely damaging. Ye aired a Super Bowl ad – one of the biggest platforms in sport and pop culture – promoting his website where the only available item was a T-shirt with a swastika on it. Like, what are we doing here and why do people continue to gloss over these actions? Am I missing something?

I know it’s not just Ye and there are loads of examples of celebrities and powerful people who have done terrible things – some even criminal – and get to bounce back or never falter in the first place… just look at some our world leaders.

At this point, we can’t even just blame Ye because he’s done what he’s done and the demand hasn’t withered. He seems to thrive on the chaos and the bad press because of the old adage: all publicity is good publicity. And as depressing as that fact is, we see it play out in people like Kanye all the time and by the looks of the comment section, people are more excited than they are divided.

However, this doesn’t take away from Ye’s actions and the impact they’ve had. At the very least, his fans should be holding him accountable and hitting him where it hurts. A friend of mine always tells me people don’t give a sh*t about anything, and the only way a protest can have any effect is if you attack that person or organisation’s wallet. Usually, I’m not quick to agree with such pessimism but in this case, he couldn’t be more right. Although, it seems like for a lot of people that’s not a step they’re not willing to take.

Ye clearly hasn’t lost enough money to even begin to make up for the things he’s done, and with places like Wireless giving him a festival residency and him performing at So-Fi stadium, I can’t see it happening any time soon.