Contrary to what Candace Owens has insinuated, JPMorgan ended its banking relationship with Kanye West last month, weeks before the rapper and fashion designer lost access to his social media accounts over an antisemitic tweet.
On Wednesday, Owens posted a photo of a letter addressed to West from JPMorgan Chase saying that the bank “has decided to end its banking relationship with Yeezy, LLC and its affiliated entities.” The bank gave West until Nov. 21 to move his assets to another bank or receive the remainder of his funds via check.
Owens, a conservative commentator who has grown close to the Yeezy founder in recent weeks, claimed that the bank gave no official reason for the severance. However, she appeared to frame JPMorgan’s decision as backlash against West’s recent controversies, including when he vowed to go “death con 3” on Jewish people in a tweet this past weekend, and when he wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at Paris Fashion Week last week.
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“I want to say that I do not care what you think about Ye West—but I very much care what you think about this,” Owens tweeted alongside the letter. “We have reached extremely frightening times in this country.”
But the bank’s move was unrelated to West’s recent caustic remarks; a source close to the situation tells The Daily Beast that the letter was sent on Sept. 20, weeks before his antisemitic tweet and his fashion show.
The source added that the letter was actually sent after West's interview with CNBC last month, in which he announced his intention to stop banking with JPMorgan while also railing against his corporate partnerships with Gap and Adidas.
“I’m moving my money over from JPMorgan over to Bank of America, possibly, because I go and move $140 million over to JPMorgan and [CEO] Jamie Dimon never calls me,” West said at the time. “I find out Jing Ulrich is one of the heads of the board at Adidas and one of the heads of the board at JPMorgan, and they already treat me a certain way at Adidas. It doesn’t matter how much money you move over there.”
It remains unclear how the termination between JPMorgan and West actually unfolded, and whether it was a mutual decision after all.
West ended his partnership with Gap last month. Adidas placed its own partnership with West under review days before his antisemitic remarks.
“The Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history,” the company said in a statement last week. “We are proud of our team that has worked tirelessly throughout our collaboration with Ye and the iconic products that were born from it. We also recognize that all successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values. After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review.”
