Kanye West reportedly dropped by sixth divorce lawyer amid antisemitism controversy

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Kanye West has reportedly been dropped by a sixth divorce lawyer in his ongoing divorce proceedings with Kim Kardashian.

West – who legally changed his name to Ye – has been dropped by New York divorce attorneys Bernard Clair and Bob Cohen from Cohen Clair Lans Griefer Thorpe and Rottenstreich LLP, according to Page Six.

“The firm is no longer representing Kanye West,” a source told the outlet.

The Independent has contacted West and his former lawyers, Clair and Cohen, for comment.

In August, a judge granted a request from Los Angeles-based attorney Samantha Spector to withdraw as counsel for the rapper, saying her relationship with West was irretrievably broken, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. Spector was West’s fifth divorce attorney.

The judge had also set a two-day trial date for 14 December to finalise the former couple’s remaining financial and custody issues.

“We’ve been ready for quite a while,” Kardashian’s lawyer Laura Wasser told Los Angeles County Judge Steve Cochran at the time, per Rolling Stone.

Cohen and Clair had previously represented Melina Gates in her divorce from billionaire Bill Gates, in which she walked away with an estimated $76bn settlement. The lawyers have also represented comedian Chris Rock and Rudy Giuliani’s ex-wife, Judith Giuliani.

The news comes as the rapper faces widespread backlash for making several antisemitic remarks during interviews and on social media. This week, Kanye West was dropped by several brands and lucrative partnerships – including Balenciaga, Adidas, and his talent agent, CAA – for the “hateful and dangerous” comments and conspiracies he shared about Jewish people.

Kim Kardashian publicly showed her support for the Jewish community on Tuesday (24 October) when she shared a social media statement addressing her ex-husband’s antisemitic rants.

“Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” Kardashian wrote on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. “I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”

The SKIMS mogul and the Yeezy founder share four children together – North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three. In March, Kardashian was declared legally single by a Los Angeles judge, nearly one year after initially filing for divorce.

Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West in February 2021 after six years of marriage.