Kanye Allegedly Showed Explicit Videos of Kim Kardashian, Hardcore Porn to Yeezy Staffers
A new bombshell Rolling Stone investigation revealed that the rapper deployed "intimidation tactics" in exchanges with his staffers, many of whom were women.
Entertainment
Even if you don’t count yourself among the audience of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, you’re likely aware that a central plot line of the show last season was Kanye “Ye” West going to great lengths (in short: flying coach) to heroically seize his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s sex tape—forever eliminating the threat of it being weaponized against her or their children. “We’re not getting extorted ever again,” West said on the episode, as Kardashian and company wept in gratitude.
Now, in a staggering investigation by Rolling Stone, scores of former employees have anonymously shared that West had no qualms about showing intimate photos and video of Kardashian—as well as his own homemade sex tapes—to Yeezy and Adidas staffers. This, disturbingly, was just one element of an inappropriate and “abusive” company culture described by two dozen former employees. According to Rolling Stone:
Behind the scenes, this celebrity boss did more than test the boundaries of professionalism: Former Yeezy and Adidas staffers and creative collaborators claim that he played pornography to Yeezy staff in meetings; discussed porn and showed an intimate photograph of Kim Kardashian in job interviews; and showed an explicit video and photos of Kardashian as well as his own sex tapes to Yeezy team members.
It’s been one month since Adidas dropped the Yeezy frontman following a torrent of antisemitic social media posts and online hate speech, but those who once worked with West are just voicing concern about their former boss and the “intimidation tactics,” as they’re deemed by the magazine, West often deployed. The deeply problematic behavior, which was “provocative, frequently sexualized, and often directed toward women,” became a cause for concern for many employees who still aren’t comfortable putting their names to the claims due to fear of professional and personal retaliation.
This week, scores of former high-ranking Yeezy employees sent a letter (entitled “The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership”) to Adidas’ executive board members and the brand’s new CEO, outlining their concerns about the now-severed Adidas-Yeezy partnership and pushing them to address “the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created.” The letter alleges “a very sick pattern of predacious behavior toward women.” Rolling Stone, which obtained it, shared an excerpt: “He has, in years past, exploded at women in the room with offensive remarks, and would resort to sexually disturbing references when providing design feedback. This type of response from a brand partner is one that Adidas employees should never be subjected to, nor should Adidas leadership ever tolerate.” Adidas declined to answer any of the magazine’s questions.
Allegations from former employees who worked closely with West range from bizarre (a new collaborator recalled West showing him hardcore pornography on his laptop during their first meeting) to unsettling (former Yeezy president Pete Fox revealed West’s behavior starkly vacillated between inviting and incendiary) to cruel (following a disagreement, West allegedly forced a young female staffer to sit on the floor, telling her, “You don’t deserve to sit at the table”). All of these, former staffers say, were part of a broader pattern of harm that one employee likened to that of an “emotional abuser.”