A former employee of rapper Ye, aka Kanye West, was paid a settlement by the musician and fashion mogul after he allegedly praised Adolf Hitler and made antisemitic remarks in the workplace, according to a report from NBC News.
In documents reviewed by NBC News, the employee alleged that Ye praised Hitler and Nazis during business meetings. As part of the settlement, Ye denied the accusation, the report states.
The employee spoke to the news agency on the condition of anonymity, saying that they had previously signed a nondisclosure agreement.
But several other former employees spoke with NBC News and claimed having seen or heard the rapper formerly known as Kanye West make antisemitic remarks numerous times over the span of several years, including one alleged incident at the offices of TMZ, in which Ye went on a “tirade” during an interview.
They also alleged that he regularly espoused conspiracy theories regarding Jewish people and described the rapper as having an “obsession” with Hitler.
One former employee told NBC News that Ye said of Hitler, “he wasn’t all bad,” and even added that he had “some good qualities.” West has mentioned Hitler in several interviews throughout his career, as detailed by NBC.
The revelations come on the heels of several remarks the rapper had made regarding Judaism and members of the Jewish community, including a tweet in which he threatened to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” making an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness scale known as DEFCON.
That public comment resulted in Ye being suspended from Twitter.
That comment began a firestorm of negative publicity directed at the musician, with many prominent members of the celebrity sphere calling for him to apologize.
The remarks also made an impact on his bottom line; the biggest impact coming from the shoe company Adidas cutting ties with the musician. The German sportswear company had a massive financial partnership with Ye, who licensed and designed apparel under the Yeezy brand.
Others to sever ties with the Chicago native include French fashion house Balenciaga, Vogue, and its editor-in-chief Ana Wintour, Hollywood talent agency CAA, and The Gap.
His comments come during a marked rise in antisemitic incidents across the country, including many locally in Los Angeles. Other well-known faces in the media world, including NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, have come under fire for similar sentiments shared to their massive social media followings.
Still, perhaps no one with a larger stature has targeted the Jewish community as directly and repeatedly as Kanye West.
He recently suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast,” among other comments. He also was criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy collection show in Paris.
NBC says it has reached out to both Ye’s representatives and TMZ, but have yet to hear back.