Widely despised 'pharma bro' Martin Shkreli strikes again and this time, he's after Kanye West's new album The Life of Pablo. As if hiking the price of a cancer and HIV drug by 5,000 percent wasn't bad enough, Shkreli now wants to ensure that no one but him can listen to West's new album.
On Thursday — the day West debuted his album alongside his latest fashion line, Yeezy Season 3, at a Madison Square Garden event — Shkreli offered on Twitter to buy it for $10 million. Shkreli assured West and his partners that they will find this offer "more attractive" than their "current course of action."
Then, Shkreli contends, if he can't get his way, he could at least delay the rest of the world hearing The Life of Pablo "by a few days."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In his offer letter, Shkreli says that that he should own the album because he has "been a tremendous fan of [West's] music for many years." He cites West's album, The College Dropout, as integral to inspiring him to "succeed at a young age."
Shkreli is the sole owner Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. He reportedly paid $2 million for the single existing copy of the album.
-
Salted caramel and chocolate tart recipeThe Week Recommends Delicious dessert can be made with any biscuits you fancy
-
Meet Ireland’s new socialist presidentIn the Spotlight Landslide victory of former barrister and ‘outsider’ Catherine Connolly could ‘mark a turning point’ in anti-establishment politics
-
Should TV adverts reflect the nation?Talking Point Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s controversial comments on black and Asian actors in adverts expose a real divide on race and representation
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
