Rapper Kanye West(now known as Ye) has been in the headlines for finally settling for a divorce from Kim Kardashian. However, West shook the internet when he recently urged the people of the Jew community to ‘forgive’ Hitler and to ‘let it go’. Needless to say, that led to a widespread social media outrage with people slamming him for his controversial remarks. Now in the latest development, the Donda rapper has been stripped of his honorary doctorate degree from SAIC following a viral petition.
As per reports by Hollywood Reporters, the SAIC community collectively with a group of people had launched a petition on Change.org where they urged SAIC President Elissa Tenny to rescind the honorary degree. The contents of the petition read, “This award bestows the legitimacy and luster of the School on a figure who has in recent months has made repeated public statements expressing and justifying anti-Semitism. Regardless of his contributions prior to receipt of this award, it is harmful to allow Ye, as he is presently known, to continue to use the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to help legitimize hatred and violence.”
Continuing on the allegations, the petition further stated, “This harm impacts the artists, designers and scholars affiliated to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and their values of justice, compassion, and free expression without hatred. This harm impacts Jews, whose lives are put at direct risk by the mainstreaming of anti-Semitic views. This harm impacts all oppressed peoples, who stand to suffer when intimidation and deadly violence against people on the basis of their identity are made justifiable.”
Post the petition getting acknowledged by the school authorities, it dished out an official notice about their decision. The said announcement said, “The School of the Art Institute of Chicago condemns and repudiates Kanye West’s (now known as Ye) anti-Black, anti-Semitic, racist, and dangerous statements, particularly those directed at Black and Jewish communities. Ye’s actions do not align with SAIC’s mission and values, and we’ve rescinded his honorary degree.”
For the unversed, Kanye West is one of the leading Hollywood celebs in terms of making controversial statements from time to time. Thus, this incident hasn’t come as a surprise for his fans as well as the netizens.
