Kanye West is at it again, this time hurling accusations pertaining to his friend, the late designer Virgil Abloh.
After sparking controversy during Paris Fashion Week when he unveiled “White Lives Matter” T-shirts in his YZYSZN9 fashion show on Monday, Ye defended his designs in a series of Instagram rants.
In one of his tirades, the 45-year-old self-proclaimed genius claimed Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy CEO Bernard Arnault “killed” the late and beloved Off-White designer, who died of cancer in 2021 at age 41.
“SPANK MY HAND WITH THE RULER(S) I’LL GO SIT IN THE ‘PRINCIPAL(S)’ OFFICE,” West captioned a photo of a statue. “CAN’T WE TALK ABOUT MORE IMPORTANT THINGS? LIKE HOW LATE THE SHOW WAS, OR HOW BERNARD ARNAULT KILLED MY BEST FRIEND.”
“EVERYONE’S GOT A RIGHT TO AN OPINION RIGHT THERE’S MINE,” he added.
The Post has reached out to reps for West and Louis Vuitton for comment.
Abloh, who gained a loyal following in the fashion world thanks to his streetwear brand Off-White, died on Nov. 28, 2021, after a two-year private battle with cancer.
Abloh became the first black person to ever be appointed the artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear in May 2018. In July 2021, he was given greater creative control across the LVMH brand, which also purchased a 60% stake in Off-White.
He and West were friends and creative collaborators — Abloh was even a groomsman in West’s wedding to Kim Kardashian — and the two shared a sweet, viral embrace at the end of Abloh’s first LV menswear show.
Tremaine Emory, founder of Denim Tears and Supreme’s current creative director, didn’t take kindly to West’s mention of Abloh, writing in his own Instagram post, “Keep Virgil name out your mouth.”
“Ye tell the ppl why you didn’t get invited to Virgil’s actual funeral the one before the public one at the museum,” Emory wrote. “You knew Virgil had terminal cancer and you rode on him in group chats, at yeezy, interviews…YOU ARE SO BROKEN. KEEP VIRGIL NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH.”
Emory also defended Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who attended the Yeezy show and later called West’s WLM shirts in an Instagram Story “pure violence.”
Ye put the editor on blast in several Instagram posts, several of which critiqued her appearance.
“This is not a fashion person You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah,” he wrote. “I KNOOOOOOW ANNA HAAAATES THESE BOOTS.”
“KEEP @gabriellak_j NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH,” Emory said. “Your not a victim your just an insecure narcissist that’s dying for validation from the fashion world [sic].”
West posted a screenshot of Emory’s caption to his own feed without a caption of his own on Tuesday.
Model Gigi Hadid also weighed in on West’s designs, commenting on one of his posts in defense of Karefa-Johnson.
“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect,” she wrote. “You have no idea haha…. If there’s actually a point to any of your s— she might be the only person that could save u. As if the ‘honor’ of being invited to your show should keep someone from giving their opinion ..?
“Lol. You’re a bully and a joke,” Hadid ended.
