Kanye West dropped by talent agency as documentary on rapper is shelved
By Leanne Italie, Associated Press
A completed documentary about the rapper formerly known as Kanye West has been shelved, and the musician has been dropped from talent agency CAA after his recent antisemitic remarks.
MRC studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley announced on Monday: “We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”
Ye was recently restricted from posting on Twitter and Instagram over antisemitic posts that the social networks said violated their policies.
He has also suggested slavery was a choice and called the Covid-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast.”
Earlier this month, Ye was criticised for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to the showing of his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu are co-founders and co-CEOs of MRC Entertainment. Scott Tenley is the chief business officer. Shelving the documentary comes just days after the French fashion house Balenciaga cut ties with Ye, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
In a lengthy memo, the three talked about the history of antisemitism.
They wrote: “Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain.
“This song was performed a capella in the time of the Pharaohs, Babylon and Rome, went acoustic with The Spanish Inquisition and Russia’s Pale of Settlement, and Hitler took the song electric. Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era.”
Ye’s talent agency, CAA, has also dropped him. The move comes after UTA chief executive Jeremy Zimmer condemned Ye in a companywide memo denouncing antisemitism. Ye was briefly a client but returned to CAA after a year.
Others in Hollywood, including Ye’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and other members of her family, have also condemned antisemitism.
Meanwhile, demonstrators unfurled banners praising Ye on a Los Angeles overpass on Sunday.
