<p>Kanye West lost $2 billion in a single day, he said Thursday, as business partners rushed to dump the rapper in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic outbursts.</p>.<p>The music and fashion mogul has seen lucrative commercial tie-ups shelved as companies including Adidas and Gap took fright at comments dubbed hate speech by activists.</p>.<p>"I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I'm still alive. This is love speech," West, who is also known as Ye, wrote on Instagram in a post that had been liked over a million times.</p>.<p>"I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am," the post said, naming Emanuel Ari, the CEO of entertainment company Endeavor, who had urged companies to sever ties with the rapper.</p>.<p>German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday it was ending its partnership with West after his "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous" comments.</p>.<p>Adidas also said it would end production of the highly successful "Yeezy" line designed together with West and "stop all payments to Ye and his companies".</p>.<p>The move is expected to lop around a quarter of a billion dollars off Adidas's bottom line this year alone.</p>.<p>West, who is open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, has long been outspoken, having half-heartedly run for US president in 2020 and then thrown his weight behind Donald Trump.</p>.<p>His willingness to go beyond the pale is a double-edged sword for business partners, who have benefited from his high profile and his frequent media appearances, but who risk being tarnished by association.</p>.<p>While they weathered previous comments, including when West called slavery a "choice", things began to unravel this month with his appearance at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned "White Lives Matter", a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.</p>.<p>Days later he was temporarily locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to "Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE", using a misspelled reference to US military readiness.</p>.<p>That sparked alarm, including apparently from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, who wrote on social media "Hate speech is never OK or excusable," in posts that did not name West.</p>.<p>Last weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read "Kanye is right about the Jews" and "Honk if you know." Several people were photographed making "Heil Hitler" salutes.</p>.<p>Adidas's announcement was followed hours later by US company Gap, which said it was taking "immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores" in addition to shutting down YeezyGap.com.</p>.<p>Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended ties with the rapper last week, saying it "no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist".</p>.<p>One of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, CAA, said it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist.</p>.<p>On Wednesday, West was escorted out of the corporate offices of shoe company Skechers in Los Angeles after showing up uninvited with a film crew, the firm said.</p>
<p>Kanye West lost $2 billion in a single day, he said Thursday, as business partners rushed to dump the rapper in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic outbursts.</p>.<p>The music and fashion mogul has seen lucrative commercial tie-ups shelved as companies including Adidas and Gap took fright at comments dubbed hate speech by activists.</p>.<p>"I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I'm still alive. This is love speech," West, who is also known as Ye, wrote on Instagram in a post that had been liked over a million times.</p>.<p>"I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am," the post said, naming Emanuel Ari, the CEO of entertainment company Endeavor, who had urged companies to sever ties with the rapper.</p>.<p>German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday it was ending its partnership with West after his "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous" comments.</p>.<p>Adidas also said it would end production of the highly successful "Yeezy" line designed together with West and "stop all payments to Ye and his companies".</p>.<p>The move is expected to lop around a quarter of a billion dollars off Adidas's bottom line this year alone.</p>.<p>West, who is open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, has long been outspoken, having half-heartedly run for US president in 2020 and then thrown his weight behind Donald Trump.</p>.<p>His willingness to go beyond the pale is a double-edged sword for business partners, who have benefited from his high profile and his frequent media appearances, but who risk being tarnished by association.</p>.<p>While they weathered previous comments, including when West called slavery a "choice", things began to unravel this month with his appearance at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned "White Lives Matter", a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.</p>.<p>Days later he was temporarily locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to "Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE", using a misspelled reference to US military readiness.</p>.<p>That sparked alarm, including apparently from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, who wrote on social media "Hate speech is never OK or excusable," in posts that did not name West.</p>.<p>Last weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read "Kanye is right about the Jews" and "Honk if you know." Several people were photographed making "Heil Hitler" salutes.</p>.<p>Adidas's announcement was followed hours later by US company Gap, which said it was taking "immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores" in addition to shutting down YeezyGap.com.</p>.<p>Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended ties with the rapper last week, saying it "no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist".</p>.<p>One of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, CAA, said it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist.</p>.<p>On Wednesday, West was escorted out of the corporate offices of shoe company Skechers in Los Angeles after showing up uninvited with a film crew, the firm said.</p>