A newly-taped episode of LeBron James-produced online talk show The Shop has been pulled because featured guest Kanye West used “extremely dangerous stereotypes” during the taping, a show producer said Tuesday night.
Springhill Entertainment produces The Shop. In a statement first provided to media platform Andscape, Springhill CEO Maverick Carter said West agreed to tone down his comments before coming on the show. Instead, the hip-hop mogul used more language considered bigoted.
“Yesterday we taped an episode of The Shop with Kanye West. Kanye was booked weeks ago and, after talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments. Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes,” Carter said.
“We have made the decision not to air this episode or any of Kanye’s remarks,” he added.
Related Story: Kanye West Defends ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirt and Attacks Lizzo
Carter admitted he naively thought West would avoid using more hate speech after the rapper’s Instagram and Twitter accounts were restricted over the weekend. Unfortunately, West went rogue.
“While The Shop embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions, we have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate,” Carter continued. “I take full responsibility for believing Kanye wanted a different conversation and apologize to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”
He didn’t elaborate on West’s latest comments, but sources told Andscape the rapper doubled down on his anti-Semitic remarks during the taping.
According to media reports, LeBron James did not attend the taping.
As previously reported, West was locked out of his Twitter account for posting anti-Semitic comments, including a threat saying he would go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” The tweet was later taken down and replaced with a message saying: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”
Related Story: Hollywood Blogger Jason Lee Cuts Ties With Kanye West Over ‘White Lives Matter’ Stunt
The rapper, who now goes by the name Ye, hadn’t tweeted in nearly two years. But he returned to the platform on Saturday after Instagram placed a restriction on his account for using anti-Semitic language.
His comments were condemned across social media, including from the Anti-Defamation League, which said he was spreading “white supremacist slogans and classic #antisemitism about Jewish power.”
