A mural celebrating Kanye West and his Chicago roots in the West Loop was painted over Thursday as backlash and criticism over his recent antisemitic comments continues.
Video showed the Fulton Market mural, located at Morgan and Lake streets, painted black Thursday morning. (Watch the full footage above to see what it looks now)
The artist who painted the mural originally, Jason Peterson, retweeted footage of the scene as it happened.
"Very crazy i’m witnessing this right now," user Ruqyyah Karim tweeted. "They’re painting over the kanye mural in chicago."
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The artist behind did not say whether he supported the move or not.
For weeks, Ye has made antisemitic comments in interviews and social media, including a Twitter post earlier this month in which he made remarks against Jewish people. His posts led to his suspension from both Twitter and Instagram.
He apologized for the tweet on Monday.
He also wore a shirt at the Yeezy Paris Fashion Week with the phrase "White Lives Matter," which appeared to have antisemitic undertones, and followed that controversy by doubling down with more destructive comments on social media. He was cut by his talent agency, CAA. Then multiple companies started dropping brand deals with the opinionated rapper, including The Gap, Balenciaga, and others.
On Tuesday, sportswear manufacturer Adidas announced that it was ending a partnership with Ye that helped make him a billionaire, saying it doesn't tolerate antisemitism and hate speech.
Then, on Wednesday, the rapper was escorted out of the California-based headquarters of athletic shoemaker Skechers after he showed up unannounced.
Ye has sparked no shortage of controversy since 2016, when he was hospitalized in Los Angeles because of what his team called stress and exhaustion. It was later revealed that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He recently suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast,” among other comments.
The Chicago mural wasn't the only sign of Chicago's response to Ye's latest comments.
The Wieners Circle on Tuesday posted on Twitter that "Chicago has officially dropped Kanye as a spokesperson."
The eatery, famed for its snarky and mean service, has made headlines for stances taken on its widely-seen marquee, which have also previously included Kanye comments.
Ye's Instagram account — which had been suspended over antisemitic comments — resumed posting Tuesday night. A new message showing a screen grab of a text message that appeared to be from a contact at a high-profile law firm spelled out when Ye could resume making apparel and new shoe designs.
Details of the message could not be verified; email messages sent to representatives for Ye weren’t immediately returned.
He shared another message early Thursday morning about what he described as "love speech."
