Kanye West and the downfall of a billionaire

With almost all of his collaborators gone, the megastar has become a ‘toxic asset’

Kanye West in Los Angeles, California, on 28 October
West has been suspended by Twitter and dropped by his talent agency, his lawyers, his bankers, and a range of creative partners
(Image credit: MEGA/GC Images)

Kanye West has been courting controversy for years, said Christopher Grimes in the FT. In 2009, the billionaire rapper and businessman ambushed Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at a music awards event, invading the stage to claim that Beyoncé should have won instead. In 2018, he said that for black Americans, slavery had been a “choice”. In between, there were erratic outbursts, feuds, and flirtations with the far-right.

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