Kanye West 'fan' burns 40 pairs of Yeezy sneakers worth $15K after being enraged by his antisemitic rant
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Kanye West has been in the news negatively since his antisemitic outburst, and several big firms have since cut their ties with the former billionaire. Ye's provocative comments have now impacted not only his ties with the brands he once worked with but also his fan base. A former Ye fan from south Florida named Danny Shiff reportedly went so far as to set fire to an expensive pair of Ye-designed sneakers.
The Yeezy sneakers that Shiff trashed are worth $15,000. "I'm very much actually for free speech, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but what got me going on this one is someone like Kanye West, people like him cannot use the massive platform to spread this kind of hate," Shiff said to 7 News Miami after tossing his once-adored new pair of sneakers into the fire. he added, "So I thought, 'There's not much I can do.' I bought 40 pairs of Yeezys, so I'm going to burn them all."
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In a now-viral video that Shiff shared, he can be seen setting several sneakers on fire. "I'm never going to wear them again or support him again," he said, adding that he did so to "make a statement." However, Shiff came under fire online for squandering thousands of dollars.
Companies are not the only ones breaking ties with Kanye West! A man in Florida is burning several pairs of Yeezy shoes following the rapper's antisemitic remarks. https://t.co/dWJMSyCsJv pic.twitter.com/WZu7DE200C
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 27, 2022
One person wrote, "Bro, I could have told you before you spent all that money on any Kanye product other than his music... its wasteful... you just throwimg away money." Another person wrote, "Why not just give them to the poor?"
Bro, I could have told you before you spent all that money on any Kanye product other than his music...its wasteful..you just throwimg away money.
— ScreamLouder (@dymplesmyl) October 27, 2022
Shiff still owns sneakers valued at $25,000, according to News12 The Bronx and after receiving backlash online, he has chosen to auction off the sneakers, with the proceeds going to a group battling racism and antisemitism.
Shiff made this decision a few days after one of the rapper's key sponsors, Adidas, ended their agreement with him. The sportswear powerhouse announced earlier this week that they are officially severing connections with West because they do not want to promote "hate speech" and because they stand for "diversity and inclusiveness, mutual respect, and fairness."
The brand claimed in a statement, "Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."
"After a thorough review, the company has decided to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect. This is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company's net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter," the statement concluded.