Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has hired Dov Charney as the CEO of Yeezy, according to
reporting by The Sun. The news was confirmed by Puck columnist Lauren Sherman, who also noted in her latest column that Ye allegedly has sold his 5% stake in SKIMS, a label founded by his ex-wife Kim
Kardashian (who owns 35% of the company).
It is not known what Ye’s plans for Yeezy are (according to Sherman’s source he doesn’t want to
make t-shirts and hoodies anymore), but unless he uses his own money, finding funding for the company may prove to be an issue given his recent antisemetic statements and messy break ups with Gap and Adidas.
Though the Canadian-born Charney identifies as Jewish, he appears to have no issue with Ye’s antisemetic statements and in a Quibi series released in 2020 titled “Big Rad Wolf,” Charney referenced Ye along with Elon Musk and Steve Jobs as leaders whom he relates to. Over the years he has worked with Ye on multiple projects and has been spotted at the religious rapper’s Sunday Service events.
And even if Charney’s religious background appears to be at odds with Ye’s antisemitism, the 46-year old entrepreneur and music creative has shown a propensity for working with creatives like Charney who have been accused of sexual abuse or harrassment by women.
Recently, Charney manufactured the controversial White Lives Matter t-shirts feature in Ye’s Paris Fashion Week presentation October of last year. Following an uproar in response to the t-shirts, Rolling Stone reported that Charney refused to distribute the t-shirts as planned through the Los Angeles Apparel site, and in the end they were given away by Ye styist Ian Connor to houseless people in Los Angeles.
Two years after being ousted by American Apparel in 2014 (a company he founded in 1989), the 54-year-old Canadian lanched copycat brand Los Angeles Apparel. In connection with millions owed from his falling out with American Apparel, he filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and as part of the settlement lost his home. According to LinkedIn, Charney is a senior partner for Los Angeles Apparel, though he no longer owns the company
