Shopify Inc. has taken down an online store promoted by rapper and designer Kanye West, known as Ye, after it was found selling shirts featuring a Nazi swastika.
“All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify,” the company said in a statement.
The store, which Ye directed viewers to during a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, featured a single product on Monday: a white shirt with a black Nazi swastika in the center, labeled under the product name HH-01. The site’s privacy policy and source code confirmed it was hosted by Shopify, the Ottawa-based e-commerce platform.
The sale of the shirts triggered immediate backlash, including strong condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League and other advocacy groups.
The controversy was further fueled by Ye’s recent social media activity, which included posts praising Adolf Hitler.
A representative for Ye did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shopify’s role in hosting the store added to the scrutiny. The company loosened its acceptable use policies last year, removing a clause that explicitly banned “hateful content.” While its terms still prohibit illegal activities, the sale of swastika-bearing merchandise remains unlawful in Germany and several other countries.
The controversy also resurfaced criticism of Shopify’s broader content policies. In November, Bloomberg reported that the platform continued to host a store selling Holocaust denial merchandise, which remains online.
The e-commerce company announced its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, surpassing revenue estimates.
However, its shares were down 1.1% in Toronto as of 10:44 a.m.
Ye, who has faced repeated bans and restrictions across various platforms for anti-Semitic statements, continues to provoke backlash over his public actions.
His latest attempt to monetize hate speech has once again placed him at the center of controversy with Shopify’s removal of his store marking the latest corporate rebuke.
