Tattoos of Kanye West are being removed free of charge at a studio in London, giving past and present admirers of the rapper-producer-designer a choice to opt out of having ink in his honor.
According to People, on Nov. 15, NAAMA Studios stated on Instagram, “We’ll remove your Kanye tattoos for free.” The post included a photo of a man folding his arms while displaying a tattoo that read “Bye.”
“Yeezy come, Yeezy go,” NAAMA later captioned a video of a former fan on IG having an image of Ye removed from their arm, the magazine reported.
“When you have a tattoo inspired by someone you admire and they end up making headlines for all the wrong reasons… at NAAMA we offer an empowering, empathetic, high-tech tattoo clearing experience,” the studio added. “If you want a change, we’re here to help.”
The tattoo parlor’s offer to give customers a chance to erase their personal imagery of Ye follows the lead of several companies that have severed ties with him in response to controversy the musician has sparked for his antisemitic rhetoric.
Ye lost billions of dollars in endorsement deals and fell from Forbes’ list of billionaires after a range of firms — a list including CAA, Balenciaga, Gap, Foot Locker and Adidas — decided to part ways with him as a result of his controversial remarks. He’s also no longer buying Parler, the right-leaning social media site, a deal that was expected to close this year.
“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” Ye posted on Twitter in October, according to People. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
Twitter suspended his account at the time for violating its terms of service, theGrio previously reported.
The rapper drew further criticism after praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during an “InfoWars” interview last week with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
“I like Hitler,” Ye told Jones Thursday, adding, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”
Ye’s comments on the show drew harsh criticism from top Republican officials and Jewish advocacy organizations and others.
“Kanye West’s anti-Semitic comments today were disgusting,” GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa said via Twitter, The Washington Post reported. “His pattern of anti-Semitic behavior is unacceptable and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. We must call out this hateful rhetoric and root out anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”
Former Ye associates claimed the artist was fascinated with Hitler and had considered naming an album after the Nazi leader. His “obsession” with Hitler allegedly contributed to the artist’s creation of a toxic work environment.
According to the Associated Press, Ye’s Twitter account was reinstated on Thursday under Elon Musk’s ownership, only to be suspended again the following morning after Ye appeared to publish an image of a swastika, a Nazi emblem, inside a Star of David, a Jewish symbol.
“I tried my best,” Musk tweeted of the decision, AP reported. “Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”
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