As the backlash against Kanye West for his antisemitic comments continues, the Los Angeles Times reports that he’s been dropped by Creative Artists Agency, one of the biggest talent agencies in the entertainment business. He had previously been represented by CAA since 2016 but was represented by CAA prior to that since early in his career (he temporarily switched to UTA in 2015).
Earlier today, the CEO of UTA called on employees in an internal memo to support a growing industry boycott against Kanye after an incident this morning in which a hate group displayed a banner reading “Kanye West was right about the Jews” over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, highlighting the potential harm in his whirlwind hate speech tour over the last few weeks.
Other groups that have dropped Kanye as a result include Vogue and its publisher Anna Wintour, who counted Kanye among her industry associates for some years, Balenciaga, which announced it was nixing any future projects with Kanye, JP Morgan, which closed his accounts, and even Donald Trump, once one of Kanye’s loudest cheerleaders (and vice versa), who reportedly distanced himself from the increasingly toxic Kanye West brand. Meanwhile, Kanye is also facing a $250 million lawsuit from the family of George Floyd for disparaging Floyd’s death as the catalyst for the 2020 uprisings against police brutality.