Israeli ex-COO of Yeezy calls for understanding over Kanye West's antisemitism

Udi Avshalom says ‘mental health is no joke’ and that he believes the music and fashion mogul ‘knows he talkin nonsense’

The Israeli former chief operating officer of Kanye West’s fashion company has come to the defense of the rapper and mogul who has made a series of antisemitic comments.

In an Instagram post, Udi Avshalom called for understanding of West, without mentioning him by name.

“I believe with education he will have a more positive [point of view], mental health is NO joke,” Avshalom wrote.

The footwear executive said he believed West himself understands that his comments were untrue.

“I love my guy and upset at the same time at all this, he knows he talkin [sic] nonsense, he is wrong, as he reflects he will realize,” Avshalom wrote.

“He has trusted me for years, I am Jewish. We made history together. I helped build his brand for him,” he said. “Jews and blacks partner cause we are fearless and forgiving ppl [sic], we share the same values.”

Udi Avshalom gives an interview September 22, 2022 (Screen grab via YouTube used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Avshalom was the chief operating officer of West’s Yeezy from 2017 until this month.

The circumstances surrounding his departure from the company were unclear.

His comments were first reported by the Daily Mail.

West is open about his struggles with bipolar disorder, has long been an outspoken figure, having half-heartedly run for US president in 2020 before throwing his weight behind Donald Trump.

Rapper Kanye West shows then US president Donald Trump a photograph of a hydrogen plane during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House October 11, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

However, he has now seen lucrative commercial tie-ups shelved as companies including Adidas and Gap responded to pressure to sever relationships with him over hate speech.

While they weathered previous comments, including when West called slavery a “choice,” things began to unravel this month with his appearance at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned “White Lives Matter,” a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Days later he was temporarily locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” using a misspelled reference to US military readiness.

Last weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “Honk if you know.” Several people were photographed making “Heil Hitler” salutes.

Antisemites at a banner over LA freeway declaring ‘Kanye is right about the Jews’ (Oren Segal, via Twitter / used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech,” West, who is also known as Ye, wrote on Instagram on Thursday in a post that had been liked almost two million times as of Sunday morning.