Yeezy shoe collectors are ‘panic selling’ following Kanye West’s antisemitic rants
Shoe collector John Lee was forced to sell off his collection in order to ensure the safety of his family in the aftermath of the rapper’s controversial Yeezy sneaker statements.
On Tuesday, West was reported to have called the Anti-Defamation League a Nazi organisation in an interview, which led him to fire off profanities at the group during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
After the story was leaked West responded to critics by tweeting, “I’m an idiot,” and “I’m sorry.”
West’s Twitter comments were followed up with a further tweet, which has since been removed, reading: “I am not sorry for calling the ADL an organisation of @NaziLies.”
Lee said he was forced to sell off his collection in order to ensure the safety of his family in the aftermath of the rapper’s controversial Yeezy sneaker statements.
The shoe collector, who has kept his belongings at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada since selling his collection, said he is now in debt to the tune of $30,000 (£26,000) and is considering selling his collection to pay off the debt.
He told the Guardian: “The backlash was too much. My family was not safe.”
“It was not just the Yeezy. It was the whole thing. It is too much. I am in no way shape or form proud of any of that. I am just disappointed with Kanye West. I was not a fan of his, but I was not a Nazi, either.”
Mr Lee said he has been approached by a number of people wanting to buy his collection but they are not willing to pay his exorbitant asking price.
“I think I am gonna have to get rid of it all if I want to protect my family, and my kids and my grandkids from it,” he said.
“Everybody is going to say, ‘Well, what can you do? You can’t stop it. No one can stop it. How much money do I have to give? It is all over the internet. There is nothing you can do about it.'”
He said one of the interested parties he