Kanye West’s hits keep coming: Here are the companies that have cut ties with him.
Kanye West has had a rollercoaster relationship with the entertainment industry.
Starting on a hip-hop level, he was once signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop label that was founded by Jay-Z. He eventually released his first mixtape, The College Dropout, in 2007. But he stopped working with rap artists after the label decided to stop working with him because he refused to stop rapping on his songs and because of his controversial views on race and politics.
In 2013, West released his much-anticipated third studio album, The Life of Pablo. He released five singles and performed live shows across the country, even performing for Barack Obama. But West went quiet in 2014 after Kanye West Presents: The Life of Pablo Live was released.
Just this week, West revealed that he was being sued for $6 million by several artists accusing him of copyright violation, among other things. He responded by releasing new singles, including “FML” and “Famous,” and continuing his controversial stance on race issues and politics.
Now, West is in big trouble again. After he posted a video on his website of himself walking on his hands and spitting into the camera (video above), he then tweeted that he would have “every single person” behind him in a photo. He added, “I had NO idea how powerful that is because I never thought that. That’s why I kept on doing it to the most people.”
That sparked an avalanche of responses, including a hashtag #NotTodayKanyewest on Twitter and an online petition that has since garnered more than 16,000 signatures calling on Disney to get out of the contract to air a television special about West, or cancel the upcoming television special.
Disney declined to comment on West’s latest legal troubles, but in a statement responded to the petition, saying, “We look forward to celebrating Kanye West’s extraordinary talent in upcoming episodes of the series.”
What’s next?
When West’s troubles begin, it will probably be a huge surprise and serve to only further his already storied career.
His next album, The Life
