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| Kanye West blocked from selling Jesus Is King merchandise in Jamaica after ‘using flag without permission’ |
The Gold Digger rapper performed a special Sunday Service on Saturday this weekend to promote the elusive release of his next album Jesus Is King.
To celebrate his surprise visit to the Caribbean island, Kanye launched some high-priced new pieces of merchandise on his official online store.
These include a crew neck jumper with the Jamaican flag for $200 (£154), a cap with City of Kingston on the front for $40 (£31) and a t-shirt with the Jamaican seal for $50 (£39).
‘I noticed Kanye West and members of his choir wearing similarly emblazoned items during their special performance in Kingston last night, but I was not aware at the time that the costumes were being sold online.
‘We neither received a request for nor did we give permission for our national symbols and emblems to be used for a commercial manner or otherwise. I have since requested that the items be withdrawn and the vendor has agreed to do so.’
The minister continued: ‘I have been granted permission to reestablish the committee and to continue the work.
‘The membership of the committee [will] include representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and others.’
On Saturday, Kanye hosted a Sunday Service at Kingston’s Emancipation Park along with a choir of around 120 people.
The rapper opened the service with gospel song, Prince of Peace, and later performed Damian Marley’s Welcome To Jamrock before aptly closing with Jesus Walks.
However, there appears to have been an issue with the crew neck jumper with the flag as it’s no longer available on the website. It’s possible that the item has also sold out.
Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, Honorable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, shared a statement on Instagram that Kanye, 42, and his team had been selling the Jamaican-branded merchandise without permission and has now banned sales of some of the items.
The statement read: ‘It has come to my attention that items of clothing printed with national symbols and emblems are being offered for sale online.
However, there appears to have been an issue with the crew neck jumper with the flag as it’s no longer available on the website. It’s possible that the item has also sold out.
Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, Honorable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, shared a statement on Instagram that Kanye, 42, and his team had been selling the Jamaican-branded merchandise without permission and has now banned sales of some of the items.
The statement read: ‘It has come to my attention that items of clothing printed with national symbols and emblems are being offered for sale online.
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