Yeezy website offline after Kanye West’s Super Bowl swastika shirt stunt
Kanye West’s Yeezy website has been knocked offline over its recent peddling of t-shirts emblazoned with swastikas.
Kanye West’s Yeezy website has been knocked offline over its recent peddling of t-shirts emblazoned with swastikas.
Shopify, an e-commerce platform used by websites and businesses to sell products, confirmed Yeezy’s webstore has been shut down, citing a violation of its terms of service. Those trying to access Yeezy.com on Tuesday, were redirected to an error screen, reading “Something went wrong,” and then “This store is unavailable.”
“All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform,” Shopfiy said in a statement to CNBC. “This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify.”
It comes just days after West, now legally known as Ye, ran a Super Bowl ad promoting the site, where only one item was available for purchase: a $20 white T-shirt featuring a black swastika. The 30-second commercial kicked off with the rapper filming a close-up of his own face while sitting in a dentist chair.
“I spent, like, all the money for the commercial on these new teeth. So, once again, I had to shoot it on the iPhone,” he said, smiling into the camera before directing viewers to Yeezy.com.
A swastika T-shirt for sale via Ye’s official website Monday. (yeezy.com)
According to Variety, the website had been advertising its typical selection of merchandise and athleisure wear on Sunday, but all of those items were removed and replaced with the swastika shirt shortly after the ad aired.
Shopify President Harley Finkelstein noted the website’s owners “had an entire day” to prove they weren’t violating the company’s policies, “which did not happen.”
“I’m a proud Jewish entrepreneur. I’m a proud Jewish community member,” she told CNBC, adding that she was “devastated” by the store’s actions.
In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, West said he was a Nazi and called himself “Yaydolf Yitler” during a days-long rant on X that has been decried as anti-semitic as well as insulting to minorities and women. His account was later deactivated over the weekend for reportedly posting pornography.