Kanye West paid a settlement to a former employee who alleged that he praised Hitler and Nazis during business meetings, reports NBC News.
The embattled rapper, 45, who has seen his career and reputation go into freefall after he vowed to go ‘death con 3 on Jewish people’ in a vile Twitter post last month – is said to have paid the employee after they allegedly witnessed ‘more than one’ instance in which he praised the fascist leader and his party.
The publication states that while West paid the employee, he denied the claims made by them in the agreement.
The former employee – who asked to remain anonymous due to signing a non-disclosure agreement – claims that West praised Hitler in 2018 during a meeting about apparel, alleging he said the tyrant ‘had some good qualities’ and that ‘he wasn’t all bad.’
They said: ‘He would kind of present things as like questions to ask people their opinion on something but then he would go really hard and aggressive on, like, what he thought about it and on really just topics that would upset people, like there were people always visibly upset.’
Claim; Kanye West paid a settlement to a former employee who alleged that he praised Hitler and Nazis during business meetings, reports NBC News
They also claimed they signed multiple NDAs while working with the musician.
NBC news reports they received proof the settlement had been paid to the employee.
Last week, in what appears to be a separate incident, West’s former business executive said the star created a hostile work environment with his anti-Semitic remarks, leading him to ultimately quit.
The unnamed person is said to have reached a settlement with Ye and some of his companies over workplace complaints, including harassment, and asked not to be named due to a confidentiality agreement and fear of retribution.
As part of the agreement, CNN reports, West denied the accusations against him.
Tyrant: The embattled rapper, 45, is said to have paid the employee after they allegedly witnessed ‘more than one’ instance in which he praised the fascist leader (pictured) and his party
Conceptual artist Ryder Ripps, who is Jewish and who worked with West from 2014-2018 also claimed to NBC News that West praised Hitler and the Nazis and discussed ‘anti-Jewish conspiracies’ during meetings in the summer and fall of 2018.
Ripps said he called out West on the comments at the time but didn’t think they were ‘that dangerous’ – but in light of his recent anti-Semitism, now thinks differently.
He said: ‘This is dangerous, and disgusting, and actually violent. With this pattern that’s happening and with the doubling and tripling down of all this, it’s pretty obvious that this is some kind of disgusting, hate-filled, strange Nazi obsession.’
Ripps claims West told him ‘Nazis are good at propaganda’ and asked him if he was offended that the star was ‘interested in Nazis’ regarding an unhappy Jewish employee – adding that ‘Jews have the codes’ a lot’.
Ripps says he told West he was ‘wrong’ to which he allegedly did not respond – and added that in the wake of West’s recent anti-Semitic tirade, he had seen an increase of people personally attacking him on Instagram.
Post: Last month, Ye declared he was going ‘death con 3 on [the] Jewish people’
The publication reports to have spoken with six additional people who have worked with West in the past five years, and have claimed to hear him praise Hitler and mention conspiracy theories about Jewish people.
Three of the people claimed they heard West use anti-Semitic language while the other three alleged the musician went on an ‘anti-Semitic rant’ at TMZ’s offices in 2018. Three of the former employees also claimed the rapper asked them to sign numerous NDAs.
It was also claimed by one of the six people that they recalled ‘multiple instances dating back to 2019’ of West comparing himself to Hitler, blaming Jews for certain events and discussing ‘anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.’
This comes after a former TMZ employee claimed in a podcast last month that West made anti-Semitic comments that the outlet chose not to publish in 2018.
Speaking on his Higher Learning podcast, Van Lathan Jr said that when he confronted West over his remarks that slavery ‘sounds like a choice,’ West also spoke about his love of Nazis.
‘I already heard him say that stuff at TMZ,’ Lathan Jr said. ‘I mean, I was taken aback because that type of anti-Semitic talk is disgusting. It’s like, I’m taken a back any time anyone does that, right?
‘But as far as [West], I knew that that stuff was in him because when he came to TMZ, he said that stuff and they took it out of the interview,’ Lathan Jr revealed.
Conceptual artist Ryder Ripps, who is Jewish and who worked with West from 2014-2018 claimed to NBC News that West praised Hitler and the Nazis and discussed ‘anti-Jewish conspiracies’
‘He said something like, “I love Hitler, I love Nazis,” something to that effect when he was there,’ the former TMZ employee said.
‘And they took it out of the interview for whatever reason,’ he claimed, adding: ‘It wasn’t my decision.’
He then went on to say that he actually brought up the Holocaust while rebutting Ye’s comments about slavery.
‘If you look at what I said at TMZ, it goes from me saying like, “Hey Kanye, there’s real-life, real-world implications to everything that you just said there.”
‘What I say after that — if I can remember, it’s been a long time — was “12 million people actually died because of Nazism and Hitler and all of that stuff,” and then I move on to talk about what he said about slavery.’
In the video from his rant back then, West could be heard saying: ‘We are controlled by the media, and today it all changes.’
He then goes on to ask TMZ employees if they ‘felt something that I said today,’ at which point Van Lathan Jr replies: ‘I actually don’t think you’re thinking anything.
‘I think what you’re doing right now is the absence of thought, and the reason why I feel like that, because Kanye — you’re entitled to your opinion, you’re entitled to believe whatever you want — but there is fact and real-life, real-world consequences behind everything that you just said.
‘And while you are making music and being an artist and living the life that you’ve earned by being a genius, the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives.
‘We have to deal with the marginalization that has come from the 400 years of slavery that you said, for our people, was a choice.’
Last week it was reported by CNN that West has long admired Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, and once wanted to name an album after him
Van Lathan went on to say: ‘Frankly I’m disappointed, I’m appalled, and frankly, brother, I am unbelievably hurt by the fact that you have morphed into something, that to me, is not real.’
Another former employee, who worked with West for three years, claims the star openly said ‘I love Hitler’ before looking around the room for ‘reactions.’
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Kanye West and TMZ for comment.
Last week, insiders claimed West has long admired Nazi leader Hitler, and once wanted to name an album after him.
Sources close to the now disgraced rapper told CNN how West was ‘obsessed’ with Hitler and even wanted to name his 2018 hit album after the fascist leader — before ultimately releasing it under the name ‘Ye.’ It is unclear why he changed his mind.
‘He would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power, and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people,’ a former business executive said.
The unnamed source claimed that people in West’s inner circle were ‘fully aware’ of his interest in Hitler, as he would speak openly about reading Mein Kampf, Hitler’s 1925 manifesto, and expressed his ‘admiration’ for the Nazis for their propaganda.
A host of high profile brands have dropped Ye in recent days and weeks amid ongoing controversy over his social media posts and rants
The Nazis, under the direction of Hitler, killed six million Jews in the Holocaust.
The rapper is now seeing his billion dollar empire crumble around him after tweeting he would go ‘death con three on the Jewish people’ and claimed Jews in the media are conspiring against him.
Last week Adidas dropped his Yeezy shoe line – a deal which was worth $1.5billion – with Gap, Footlocker, TJ Maxx, and Balenciaga all following suit and cutting ties with the rapper.
The termination of the Adidas deal has now knocked Ye out of the billionaire ranks, according to wealth tracker Forbes.
The rapper was embarrassingly escorted out of Skechers headquarters on Wednesday after showing up unannounced to pitch his Yeezy brand a day after being dropped by Adidas and having his songs banned by Peloton.
Skechers representatives said in a statement: ‘Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation. Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West.
‘We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech. The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.’
The rapper’s removal from the shoe brand’s office comes mere hours after Adidas announced that it will continue to sell Yeezy products while removing the rapper’s moniker.
Management said that they will sell the items under their own brand at the beginning of 2023, according to analysts.
Adidas broke off their deal with Ye on Tuesday after pressure from fans over the rapper and designer’s recent anti-Semitic comments.
It ended the lucrative partnership, which included royalty payments and other fees.
He is now worth just $400 million, which Forbes estimates comes from real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5 percent stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.
But as corporations around the world break off deals with Ye, music streaming service Spotify said it would not remove the rapper’s music unless his label requested it.
Recent anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper are ‘just awful comments,’ and would have warranted removal from Spotify for violating its policies if they had been on a podcast or recording, Spotify chief Daniel Ek said.
However, music from the artist now known as Ye does not violate anti-hate policies, and any anti-Semitic comments he has made cannot be found on the music streaming platform.
‘It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,’ said Ek, adding, ‘It’s up to his label, if they want to take action or not.’
Questions over whether Spotify would pull Ye’s music come after Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel called for major streaming services to end their business relationships with West.
But Spotify has faced backlash in the past when it punished musicians for their personal misconduct.
The streaming service removed R Kelly’s music from its playlists and recommendations in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct only to later walk back the policy after other artists threatened boycotts.
Instead, the streaming platform now gives users a mute button to block particular artists with whom they may disagree.
If Ye’s label asks for the rapper’s catalog to be removed, Ek said, ‘Obviously we’ll respect their wishes.’
TJ Maxx has also stopped doing business with the rapper, after he was previously dropped by talent agency CAA and fashion label Balenciaga.
Footwear retailer Foot Locker also announced they would ‘not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops, and we have instructed our retail operators to pull any existing product from our shelves and digital sites.’
Universal Music’s Def Jam label, which owns the copyright to West’s recordings from 2002 through 2016, and continued distributing his releases until last year, also issued a statement condemning Ye’s remarks.
‘There is no place for anti-Semitism in our society,’ the record label said. But it has not yet asked for the removal of Ye’s recordings, many of which are critically acclaimed works.
Meanwhile, production studio MRC recently announced that they are shelving a documentary they made about the rapper.
MRC studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu, and Scott Tenley announced in a memo Monday: ‘We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.
And even auction house Christie’s which was handling the private sale of a rare Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototype worn by West to the 2008 Grammy’s is no longer proceeding with the sale.
Budget: Ye is now worth $400 million, which Forbes estimates comes from real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a five percent stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims