After brands dump Kanye West, many people ask: What took so long? In late 2016, it appeared that West’s career and his reputation with women had been permanently damaged after his 2015 release of “Famous,” in which he appeared to condone rape. “Famous,” however, was a joke — not really. West’s initial assault charges were dismissed, and he was never criminally charged for the alleged assault of his ex-girlfriend Paris Taylor, who said he punched and choked her while she was on stage during the opening of his tour in 2014.
Even in 2015, West appeared to be trying to avoid a potential public fall, using his Twitter account to promote a new album, “The Life of Pablo”, and also to release a cover of a song by The Weeknd and a video he recorded for VH1, “Black Skinhead.” The “Black Skinhead” video featured a female rapper wearing an Afro wig, wearing a black sweatshirt, and a motorcycle, plus a white man with a motorcycle helmet riding over her head holding a black baseball bat. The video went viral, and West received a lot of publicity. But, in the video, West is shown to be holding a bloody knife in his hands, and West’s own daughter, North, was shown to be at the scene, filming the scene with her cell phone.
It was only a few months later, however, when a video surfaced online in which West appears to have sex with Taylor after allegedly attacking the two in his car in the parking lot of a hotel. The video was shot using a hidden camera, which can be controlled remotely by the user. Another video appeared online showing West and Taylor fighting during a car ride, before West jumped into the driver’s seat, sped off, and began yelling in the car, “Get the f— out of the car! You bitches, get the f— out of the car!”
After West’s alleged assault on Taylor, he was kicked out of Yeezy
