E-commerce platform Shopify on Tuesday shut down an online store belonging to Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after his website started exclusively selling T-shirts with swastikas.
A spokesperson for Shopify, which processed orders from Ye’s Yeezy.com website, confirmed to NewsNation that it would no longer support the store.
“All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform,” the spokesperson said. “This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify.”
As of Tuesday morning, the online store appeared to be offline and was replaced with a message that read, “This store is unavailable.”
During the Super Bowl, Ye aired a commercial in some local markets that directed people to his online store, Yeezy.com. As of early Tuesday, the website had been selling only one item: a $20 white t-shirt bearing a large swastika symbol.
When the ad aired during the Super Bowl, according to Variety, Ye’s website had been selling other products but soon after began only selling the swastika t-shirt.
The latest development comes after Ye released a torrent of antisemitic posts on X on Friday, making statements, including, “Im a Nazi”; “I don’t like or trust no Jewish person and this is completely sober with no Hennessy”; “I love Hitler Now what b——“; “I’m never apologizing for my Jewish comments.”
During the Super Bowl, the controversial rapper posted a series of messages, including a swipe at global superstar Taylor Swift, who was seen singing to rapper Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. The set included Lamar’s hit song “Not Like Us,” which was part of a diss battle between Lamar and Drake last year.
“WHY ARE WE LETTING TAYLOR SWIFT BE SEEN ON TV SINGING A SONG ABOUT TAKING A BLACK MAN DOWN AND ACCUSING OF THINGS THAT CAN TAKE A BLACK MAN DOWN FOR LIFE,” Ye posted. “KENDRICK IS BEING USED BY THESE WHITE PEOPLE AND JEWS AND SO AM I.”
Ye left the social media platform X later that night, but it was unclear whether X deactivated Ye’s account or whether Ye willingly deleted it. The rapper posted a final message saying he was “logging out of Twitter.”
“I appreciate Elon [Musk] for allowing me to vent,” Ye wrote Sunday, according to screenshots on the platform and multiple media reports. “It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board. It was like an Ayahuasca trip. Love all of you who gave me your energy and attention. To we connect again…Good afternoon and goodnight.”
