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Controversy surrounding rapper Kanye West ensnared an unlikely target over the weekend amid unverified reports that went viral that Goodwill thrift stores had been directed to remove all Yeezy-branded products from their shelves. (West now wants to be called Ye.)
The row comes after the rapper doubled down on recent antisemitic comments, including one of Oct. 14, that prompted major sportswear brands including Adidas and Gap to announce they will no longer do business with him.
The controversy also prompted “Saturday Night Live” to spoof the rapper regarding his uninvited visit to shoe firm Skechers’ headquarters last week from where he was escorted out by security. SNL cast member Colin Jost lampooned him in the show’s “Weekend Update” segment. Jost joked that the severing of ties by Goodwill was “ironic since Kanye has lost enough money that he might soon need them (Goodwill)” as a result of the fallout.
However, a spokesperson for the Rockville, Maryland-based Goodwill Industries International emphatically said Monday that the apparent directive was from Goodwill’s Southern California chapter, not the national headquarters. The national organization had nothing to do with it and hasn’t taken a position on the matter, she said.
“We did not issue anything at all,” Rhiana Sherwood, a senior public relations manager with Goodwill Industries International, told The NonProfit Times. “Our member organizations include 155 autonomous Goodwill organizations, and Southern California is one of them. We (the national organization) are a support to them, but they all make their own decisions, which is how this whole thing happened. So right now, we definitely are going to have to defer to them,” said Sherwood.
Marla Eby, director of marketing and media relations for Goodwill Southern California, did not respond to phone and email messages left for her by The NonProfit Times.
However, a leaked memo indicated the chapter had directed the removal of all Yeezy-branded sneakers and other clothing items from its shelves and would no longer sell or accept donations of the rapper’s merchandise, which the local organization said no longer aligned with its mission and core values. The rapper now refers to himself as “Ye.”
The controversy over West’s remarks began in early October after he responded to the backlash over his wearing of a “White Lives Matter” shirt at Paris Fashion Week by airing a series of offensive stereotypes and conspiratorial claims regarding Jewish identity and unnamed Jewish people, whom he accused of fanning the controversy.
West claimed without proof that Jared Kushner, the Jewish son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, helped broker peace accords between Israel and Arab nations strictly “to make money.” The barrage of comments and online posts got him booted from Twitter due to insinuations of violence.
Leaders of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), where the mission is to fight antisemitism and bias, said via a statement that “(there) is no evidence that Ye views himself as a member of any organized extremist group, but his recent remarks are reminiscent of popular tropes espoused by anti-Semites” including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan – for whom it said Ye has expressed admiration and vice-versa.
The ADL previously denounced the rapper for similar comments he made about Jews in 2013, that it said harked back to the worst antisemitic stereotypes about Jewish money, greed and power.
Spanning the United States, Canada and a dozen other countries in Latin America and overseas, Goodwill generates proceeds from online sales and thrift stores that fund job training and placement services for individuals who face barriers to employment.
More than 2 million people received services from their local Goodwills in the last year alone including more than 123,000 who were placed into jobs, according to the national organization’s website. Taken as a whole, Goodwill and its affiliated chapters together took in revenue of $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2021, according to calculations by The NonProfit Times. Figures for Goodwill’s Southern California chapter indicate it generated $165 million in 2020, the most recent year for which a federal Form 990 is available.
Update: The national headquarters of Goodwill Industries International issued a statement after this story was posted. It is:
“Goodwill is built on our diversity and our inclusivity of individuals from all cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. Each of the 155 autonomous Goodwill locations that make up our entire organization puts high value on diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness. This means there is no tolerance for any kind of hate speech against anyone.
In face of the recent comments made by Kanye West, each Goodwill location is independently reviewing any Yeezy-branded merchandise they may possess and determining the most responsible course of action that aligns with the values we hold ourselves to as an entire organization, and that helps to further our mission.
When anyone donates or shops at a local Goodwill store, they are helping someone in their community receive help with career navigation, skills training, job placement and other community-based services to ensure economic stability both at home and in the workplace. We thank all of our patrons for their ongoing support of our mission.”
