Earlier this year, Kanye West’s rise to fame was documented in the Netflix film Jeen-Yuhs, which was shot by his longtime friends Coodie & Chike. However, because he remains a fascinating subject and demand for more of his story was high even after the insight provided by Jeen-Yuhs, another documentary about the controversial rapper was recently completed by MRC Entertainment. However, according to Billboard, MRC — known for such hits as House Of Cards, Ozark, and Ted, as well as an upcoming documentary about Milli Vanilli — has put the kibosh on the project, eating the loss rather than platforming anymore of West’s recent antisemitic bile.
In a joint statement, CEOs Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu and COO Scott Tenley wrote, “This morning, after discussion with our filmmakers and distribution partners, we made the decision not to proceed with any distribution for our recently completed documentary about Kanye West. 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… Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era.”
West has been increasingly vocal in sharing antisemitic views over the past few weeks, characterizing Jews as a shadowy cabal secretly controlling industry and entertainment behind-the-scenes and threatening to go “Death Con 3” (a malaprop of DEFCON 3, which refers to the US defensive readiness condition) on adherents to the faith. Highlighting how dangerous and virulent this invective can be, a hate group hung a banner referencing his comments over an LA freeway today.
In response, Kanye has been dropped by his agency, while other agents such as Ari Emmanuel and the UTA leadership have called for a boycott to keep him from spreading his dangerous rhetoric. While the best time was probably in 2018, in the middle of all his “MAGA” shenanigans, the next best time is now.