Topline
Donda Academy, the controversial California school founded by Kanye West, has abruptly closed for the rest of the semester, according to an email sent to parents by the school’s principal, as West—also known as Ye—has been dropped by brands like Adidas over his recent antisemitic comments.
Key Facts
In an email seen by the Times, Donda Academy principal Jason Angell sent out an email to the school community Wednesday night announcing there would be no school on Thursday and that classes would not resume for the remainder of the semester “at the discretion of our founder,” but did not specify West’s reasoning.
Angell said the Simi Valley academy has plans to reopen next year in September for the fall 2023-2024 school year.
Donda Academy reportedly charges $15,000 in tuition per year, and it’s unclear if families will be refunded.
Key Background
The abrupt closure in the middle of the semester comes after Donda Academy—named for West’s late mother, Donda West—opened its doors in August to about 100 students, according to reports. It has not yet been accredited. Sources told Rolling Stone that students’ families were required to sign nondisclosure agreements, and images shared on social media by West showed students in school uniforms made up of West’s designs for Balenciaga (the brand was among the first major companies to cut ties with him). West previously complained that his four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian did not attend Donda Academy, and floated the idea of them attending both his school and their current school. Donda Academy’s curriculum, according to the school’s website, includes full school worship, core classes of language arts, math, and science and enrichment courses like world languages, visual arts, film, choir and even parkour.
News Peg
West has faced backlash after a series of bizarre behavior over the past month. In early October, he donned a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt during Paris Fashion Week and has made antisemitic comments over the past few weeks, including saying he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” His Twitter and Instagram accounts were later locked, but he returned to Instagram Wednesday with new posts. West has been dropped by many industry connections, the biggest being Adidas, the German sportswear company that West created Yeezy brand products with. On Wednesday, West was escorted from the Skechers corporate office headquarters after making an unauthorized visit. Skechers released a statement saying West was not invited and that the brand “is not considering and has no intention of working with West.”
Our Valuation
West is worth about $400.1 million after being dropped by Adidas, Forbes estimates. Before losing the deal, he was worth about $1.9 billion.
Tangent
The former business address listed for Donda Academy in Calabasas is delinquent on its property taxes. West purchased the property in 2018.
