TJ Maxx joins Adidas, Gap in cutting ties with Ye

The department store chain TJ Maxx has joined the list of companies cutting ties with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, following a series of antisemitic comments he has made recently. 

TJX Companies, the parent company of TJ Maxx that also operates chains like Marshalls and HomeGoods, said in a statement that it has instructed its buying teams to not purchase merchandise associated with Ye’s apparel line, Yeezy, for sale in any stores globally. 

“At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind,” the company said. 

Ye has made deals with several retailers to sell products, such as one with Adidas to sell Yeezy shoes, but many of those partnerships have been terminated in recent days. Like TJ Maxx, other companies, including Gap and Adidas, have cut ties with Ye and stopped selling his products. Additionally, the Creative Artists Agency, which represents a variety of musicians and athletes, dropped him as a client, and the film and television studio MRC said it would not release a documentary on Ye that was recently completed. 

The controversy surrounding Ye began after he wore a shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on it while introducing the ninth season of his Yeezy clothing label in Paris earlier this month.

Days after that, he accused rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs of being controlled by Jewish people, which caused his Instagram account to be suspended. His Twitter account was also suspended after he tweeted that he planned to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

Unaired parts of an interview he had with Tucker Carlson on Fox News later revealed that Ye repeated several antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the idea that Jewish people control financial institutions. 

He reluctantly apologized for his comments in an interview with Piers Morgan but also made additional references to antisemitic conspiracy theories in the interview.

Forbes reported that Ye is no longer a billionaire in the aftermath of his comments. The outlet estimated that he was worth $400 million after losing his deal with Adidas.