Amid continued controversy surrounding Kanye West, a completed documentary about him has been shelved. Per Variety, it has been announced by the executives behind the doc, MRC's Modi Miczyk, Asif Satchu, and Scott Tenley, have pulled the documentary from its planned release. This decision had been made despite the fact that the film had already been completed, as the filmmakers feel that it's no longer appropriate to release the doc in light of controversial comments recently made by the hip-hop mogul.
A memo written by the trio reads:
“This morning, after discussion with our filmmakers and distribution partners, we made the decision not to proceed with any distribution for our recently completed documentary about Kanye West. We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform. Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain. The silence from leaders and corporations when it comes to Kanye or antisemitism in general is dismaying but not surprising. What is new and sad, is the fear Jews have about speaking out in their own defense.”
Making matters worse for Ye, he has also reportedly been dropped by his talent agency, CAA. While the company hasn't yet publicly addressed the situation, the decision to drop Ye is not a big surprise. It follows the recent condemnation of Ye and his remarks by UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, as Ye had at one point been a client of UTA. Zimmer's statement is as follows:
“Regrettably, antisemitism, racism and many forms of hate and intolerance are part of the fabric of society. Generally, they live as a plague eroding the health of communities and are combatted by understanding, tolerance and the general goodness of most people. But throughout history some have used their public platform to spew the plague out loud and spread the contagion to dangerous effect. Kanye is the latest to do so, and we’re seeing how his words embolden others to amplify their vile beliefs. I’ve also seen copies of horribly antisemitic flyers left this weekend on the doorsteps of homes in LA neighborhoods, showing that the 405 banners are not the end of it.”
Kanye West Continues to Generate Headlines, For Better or For Worse
In recent weeks, Kanye West has been in the news frequently for one controversial statement made after another. While he has never been one to shy away from controversy, many say he's gone too far this time amid criticism of making anti-Semitic comments. This has led to calls for others to cut ties with West, and that process had already started with Ye getting dropped by the luxury fashion house Balenciaga.
West also recently made headlines for his claim that he was the one who came up with the idea for the Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained. According to West, he pitched the concept to Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino, alleging Tarantino went on to turn that idea into a movie. These comments did not go over well on social media as there did not appear to be many who believed these claims, noting that Django Unchained was inspired by the 1966 movie Django. Tarantino has previously said he got the idea for Django Unchained while writing a book about Django director Sergio Corbucci.