He was once considered a musical genius, a fashion idol, and an iconic part of hip-hop culture. Kanye West faces major backlash after his Super Bowl 2025 commercial, confirming many people’s fears. After many incriminating tweets, as well as concerning actions during the Grammys, Kanye’s behavior has led to his declining likability from the public.
During Super Bowl LIX, Kanye West aired a “Yeezy.com” commercial, which was a low-budget commercial taken on an iPhone camera. In the commercial, Kanye was at the dentist, directly speaking to the audience, stuttering while asking viewers to visit his website. Yeezy is renowned for the brand’s infamous shoes and slides as well as other unique closet pieces. When people went to the advertised website, they were shocked to see that all of Kanye’s designs had been removed from the website, and a single item had been added: a white t-shirt with a black print of a swastika stamped on the front of it.
Many criticize not only Kanye but also the Super Bowl for not checking the website before accepting the ad to air on television, reaching millions of audience members. With an event as big as the Super Bowl, it was shocking that action wasn’t taken prior to it being publicly televised.
Kanye had faced backlash for anti-Semitic comments in the past, but most concluded that this was just as extreme as it got. In 2020, Kanye was “canceled” for wearing a ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirt during the Black Lives Matter protest. After that initial issue, many brands decided to cut his name out of their picture, including Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap. This moment is what started Kanye’s downward spiral. Only 3 years after the release of his album ‘Jesus is King’, many were outraged and felt that he was using Christianity as a cash grab and that his whole testimony was a complete lie.
While many argue that Kanye suffers from clinical bipolar disorder, it doesn’t excuse hate speech. Some speculate that Kanye spiraled even further after the death of his mother, Donda West. Although he has never claimed to be a positive influencer, many still look up to him and see him as an idol, simply by the nature of his massive fame. Using his platform to encourage racism is objectively inappropriate, especially when considering his young impressionable audience base.
Many fans turned their backs on their favorite artists, unable to see any good left in him. Kanye had been seen as an artist in the past; he pushed boundaries and created unique art. A once loved rapper is now seen as racist, hateful, and controversial.
