Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has been dropped this month by Gap, Adidas, Balenciaga, his agency, his bank, his divorce lawyer, and a production company that had recently completed a documentary on him (and released an insane statement about its decision). If you believe the dicey math of Forbes, he is no longer a billionaire. The immediate reason for all of this that Ye wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt and made a lot of antisemitic remarks in interviews and online, the latest stage of a years-long meltdown that has continued unabated because he won't listen to anyone around him. When Diddy offered to help, Ye accused him of being controlled by Jews, then posted the texts. He's lost the support and respect of many around him—but he still has Antonio Brown.
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said in separate statements on Tuesday that they would cut ties with Donda Sports, an organization founded by Ye. It's unclear where that leaves the athlete agency, which doesn't have a legible website and doesn't post anything on Instagram. This past summer, Kyrie Irving was rumored to sign there but chose to stick with his stepmother instead. The only confirmed employee of Donda Sports is disgraced NFL player Antonio Brown, who released his own statement yesterday saying that he will remain as the agency's president:
#DONDA pic.twitter.com/IkvsAlEKWU
— AB (@AB84) October 26, 2022
What exactly is left for Brown to preside over? That part isn't important; what really matters to Brown is that he can get some attention out of this. That's been his only goal since January, when he took off his jersey and jogged out of the stadium midgame. When Brown posts about Gisele to taunt his former teammate Tom Brady—the guy who let him stay in his house, twice—it's because he, or whoever tweets for him, knows people will find that provocative. Elsewhere, he operates more explicitly as a disgusting creep and ends up owing $1.2 million to a truck driver he beat up three years ago.
Brown and Ye have had vastly different career trajectories, but it makes sense that the former would stick by the latter: After rejecting any help or intervention, the only move either has left is to be vindictive. Who's there to stop them?
