Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is selling T-shirts on his website bearing a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi Party adopted by Adolf Hitler in 1920.
“Since 1945, the swastika has served as the most significant and notorious of hate symbols,” says the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on its website. Ye has a history of antisemitic comments, including praising Hitler and the Nazis.
The shirts cost $20, and Shopify is processing orders. It is the only item for sale on yeezy.com. Shopify did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment about its involvement with the merchant.
Ye used a local ad on Sunday during the Super Bowl to send shoppers to his website, without mentioning the T-shirts. Ye said he recorded the ad himself, which shows him addressing the camera while sitting in a dentist’s chair. The ad was not aired nationally, but was viewed in the Los Angeles market, according to Variety.
“I spent, like, all the money for the commercial on these new teeth,” Ye said in the commercial, showing off a set of jewel-encrusted teeth. “Once again I had to shoot it on the iPhone. Um…Um…. Go to Yeezy.com.”
Ye is selling the shirts shortly after antisemitic remarks were posted on his social media. As a result, his X account is no longer active.
The ADL, an anti-hate organization that fights discrimination against Jewish people, condemned the sale of the T-shirts.
“As if we needed further proof of Kanye’s antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website — a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika,” the group said in a post on X. “The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy.”
The ADL also noted that the product is labelled HH-01, which it said is code for “Heil Hitler.”
“Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience,” the ADL added.
Representatives for Ye told CBS MoneyWatch, “We have no comment at this time.”
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
The post Ye selling T-shirts bearing swastika after placing local Super Bowl ad appeared first on CBS News.
