Former executive claims Kanye West had Hitler ‘obsession’ and admired Nazis, report says

A former executive who used to work with Kanye West is alleging the rapper had an open “obsession” with Adolf Hitler and used to reminisce about the “great things” the Nazi Party did for Germany, CNN reported.

The executive, who spoke with CNN on condition of anonymity, discussed how West, who legally changed his name to Ye, had created a hostile environment during their time working with the 45-year-old, in part because of his obsession with the leader of the Nazi Party.

“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,” the individual told CNN.

The report arrives amid a flurry of commercial partners announcing in recent days and weeks that they would be terminating their business relationship with the College Dropout artist as the fallout from the antisemitic comments he unleashed online and during interviews continues to have a ripple effect.

Most consequentially of that ongoing exodus was the announcement on Tuesday that Adidas would be ending their Yeezy partnership with Ye, a decision that brought down his net worth from an estimated $2bn (£1.74bn) to $400m (£348m) overnight, according to Forbes magazine.

After days of relentless pressure, Adidas announced on Tuesday that it had terminated its business relationship with the fashion mogul over his repeated antisemitic remarks.

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other sort of hate speech,” it said in a press release.

“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.”

The CNN report also claimed the same kind of hateful messages had contributed to an overall hostile workplace, which was, in part why the individual left their post.

That former colleague reached a settlement with the rapper over workplace complaints and harassment, which CNN reviewed, while Ye has continued to deny the executive’s allegations.

In addition to admiring the Nazi leader, those in Ye’s inner circle were also allegedly aware of his infatuation with the far-right political regime, with the executive claiming that the 45-year-old also spoke openly about reading Mein Kampf and the party’s use of propaganda.

Four separate sources claimed to CNN that the rapper’s infatuation with the far-right political regime and its autocratic leader went so far that he once suggested that his 2018 album be named after the Third Reich and be titled, Hitler instead of what it was eventually called, Ye.

The Independent reached out to Universal Music Group, which owns Ye’s former music label Def Jam, for comment but did not hear back immediately. The Independent has also reached out to West for comment on the allegations raised in the CNN report but did not hear back before publication.

Those sources, who asked to remain anonymous with the news outlet out of fear of retribution, did not have information about why the album was ultimately called Ye.