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Kanye faces backlash for naming Yeezy trainers after Islamic angels of judgment and death, asked to apologize

A number of social media users criticized the rapper and Adidas for making an 'extremely hurtful insult' for which they 'must make amends for'

People on the Internet have slammed Kanye West for "making a mockery" of Islam religion since his new line of trainers has been named after the Islamic angels of judgment and death. The $235 Yeezy trainers by West have been named Israfil and Asriel, and since Adidas has already stocked the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil, it is also facing a backlash. The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel will probably release in September. A number of social media users have criticized the rapper and the sports company for making an “extremely hurtful insult” for which they “must make amends for”. They have also demanded an immediate change of the names and an apology.

On August 17, Adidas tweeted: “YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 ISRAFIL. AVAILABLE AUGUST 22 IN ASIA PACIFIC, EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA AT https://a.did.as/6012GcgwY, ON THE ADIDAS APP IN SELECT COUNTRIES, AND IN SELECT ADIDAS STORES.” But soon it attracted a lot of negative comments as one user wrote, “Very disrespectful. Adidas is disrespecting Islam. Israfil is one of the four angels in Islam. Shame on @adidasoriginals and @kanyewest”. “@adidasoriginals You Should Think Before Naming Your Shoes, Israfil Is The Name Of An Angel In Islam, Before You Face Problems, Make Sure To Understand,” said another user.

A third added: “Change the name @kanyewest @adidasoriginals it's actually very offensive to the Muslim community, that's the name of our angels, pls change the names.” “I cannot support ADIDAS as long as you are associated with Kanye West. He is sick and needs help. Adidas has done nothing to make this situation any better. Silence is compliance,” tweeted a user.

However, not everyone was against the trainers’ names as some people defended them by writing, “Why is that a bad thing, I would think it would be pretty cool.” “I don't understand why people find this offensive, please explain. All he did was name it after something,” tweeted a second user.

This comes as the ‘Jesus is King’ singer made headlines for introducing a new collection of outlandish sunglasses which according to netizens, resemble hairbands. Offering a look at his YEEZY-Gap partnership, West posted a limited number of pictures of his eyewear collection on Twitter. He also shared pictures of his collection of waterproof bags.

However, as soon as the picture of stylized wooden sunglasses went viral, people started making fun of West. One mocked that “he was watching old reruns of Star Trek and stole the Geordi glasses”. Another said: “Y’all are gonna let him sell you a headband??" While the third user added, “Kanye redesigned women hairband to sell."

There were some people who suggested some theories stating how West conceived the odd sunglasses. "I’m pretty sure Ye just had a hairband on his head, dropped something, bent over to pick it up hairband slides over eyes which marked the creation of his new eyewear. Tell me I’m wrong,” said one. “But is Kanye really OK? What's this rubbish? The people that surround him don't tell him the truth I suppose," asked the second one. One was a little harsh, "When you're famous you could use banana peels as souls for your shoes and people will still buy."