Spotify chief: Ye antisemitic comments were 'awful,' but music won't be pulled
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told Reuters that the music platform will not remove music by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, as companies increasingly cut ties with the rapper after he made a series of antisemitic comments.
Ye in recent podcasts and interviews has blamed the “Jewish media” and “Jewish Zionists” for a series of misdeeds and threatened to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.“
Ek told Reuters that those remarks are “just awful comments,” but he cautioned that Spotify would not remove his content because they were not made on the platform itself.
"It's really just his music, and his music doesn't violate our policy," Ek told the outlet.
The Hill has reached out to a Spotify spokesperson for further comment.
Ye has lost multiple partnerships and deals in the wake of the controversy.
Adidas on Tuesday pulled its partnership with Ye, joining Creative Talent Agencies and the Balenciaga fashion house, among others.
Ye reluctantly apologized for his antisemitic comments in an interview with Piers Morgan last week, but the apology only came after he cited more conspiracies about Jews.
"It's up to his label if they want to take action or not,” Ek told Reuters.
The outlet reported that Universal Music’s Def Jam label owns the copyright to Ye’s recordings between 2002 and 2016 and distributed his music until last year.
Ye no longer appears on the label’s website, and The Hill has reached out to a Universal Music spokesperson for comment.