More and more companies have distanced themselves from rapper Kanye West since he has been spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The list is growing every day: the talent agency CAA, the fashion label Balenciagia and most recently the sports giant Adidas stopped their cooperation with the 45-year-old. A documentary film about him was also shelved. Now the wax museum “Madame Tussauds” in London is joining.
“The figurine has been withdrawn from the attraction floor into our archives,” confirmed a spokesman for the museum. The image of the rapper has thus been removed from the publicly accessible rooms and can no longer be seen by visitors. “Every character deserves their place at Madame Tussauds London and we listen to our guests and the public about who they expect to see.” Kanye West is no longer one of them.
The museum put up his wax figure in 2015, along with the figure of his then-wife Kim Kardashian. She has also spoken out in the past few days and condemned her former partner’s statements as “terrible violence and hateful rhetoric” towards the Jewish community.
Although Madame Tussauds has multiple locations across the US, including in New York, San Francisco and Nashville, the rapper’s character has never been there. The British Guardian describes the London museum’s decision as “a symbolic representation of his fall from grace”.
While the removal of the wax figure only has a symbolic effect, the separation from Adidas is said to have hit the 45-year-old financially hard. The partnership with the sports label was valued at $250 million. With the end of the collaboration, Kanye West is said to have lost his billionaire status. Forbes now estimates the rapper’s worth at $400 million.
Sources: “Billboard”, “The Guardian”
