Kanye West's Donda Academy Faced Trouble Before Sudden Closure

Donda Academy, the controversial school opened by beleaguered rapper Kanye West, has been closed down effective immediately, according to reports.

Based in Simi Valley, California, Christian K-12 prep school Donda Academy—which is named after West's late mother, Professor Donda West—said on its website that its mission is to "prepare students to become the next generation of leaders."

However, those future leaders will be waking up on Thursday morning with no classes on their agenda, as U.K. newspaper The Times reported that parents were informed by email on Wednesday that the school has been shut down.

According to the publication, Donda Academy's principal, Jason Angell, said in an email sent to the approximately 100 students' parents that "at the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately. [...] THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW."

The report comes as the school's founder, who has legally changed his name to Ye, faces a storm of backlash and financial loss over his antisemitic comments.

After being locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts earlier this month after posting antisemitic comments on both platforms, Ye went on to make similar remarks in subsequent interviews, prompting a number of businesses to cut ties with him.

Sportswear giant Adidas, which had worked with Ye on his Yeezy sneaker collections since 2015, also announced on Tuesday that it was immediately severing ties with the star, bringing to an end his most valuable business relationship.

Adidas was already conducting a review of its relationship with West before his Twitter posts. The company launched a review earlier this month after West wore a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt to his Yeezy brand fashion show and publicly criticized Adidas.

Forbes has reported that the end of the business relationship caused Ye's net worth to plummet from $2 billion to a comparatively humble $400 million.

Trouble Behind the Scenes

While it is not known if Ye's sudden and dramatic change in fortunes was behind the decision to close the $15,000-per-year Donda Academy, the locking of the school's gates comes after trouble behind the scenes.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday that Tamar Andrews, who has served as an educational consultant for Donda Academy since July, quit her role earlier this month in light of Ye's antisemitic comments.

Andrews is listed as the director of early childhood education at both Temple Isaiah and American Jewish University, according to the websites for both institutions.

Allison Samek, president of Temple Isaiah of Los Angeles, told THR: "Dr. Andrews immediately resigned from Donda Academy following Ye West's tweet. Her last day was October 11, 2022, as she felt she could no longer support the organization."

Andrews had told Rolling Stone last month that the school, which opened in November 2021 and had 16 full-time teachers on its books, was not yet accredited, though it had applied with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

One of the school's prized endeavors was its Donda Doves basketball team, which reportedly had such NBA stars as Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown and Utah Jazz's Jordan Clarkson on hand to help out the students. Brown, who was also represented by Ye's Donda Sports agency, said this week that he was severing all ties with Donda Sports and Donda Academy in light of Ye's antisemitic comments.

According to Rolling Stone, some of the top high-school basketball players in the U.S. have been recruited at Donda Academy, including ESPN's No. 8 pick Robert Dillingham and No. 25 selection A.J. Johnson.

Hoop Dreams Deferred

However, the Doves' dreams have hit something of a stumbling block, as the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that the team had been blocked from participating in the Spalding Hoophall Classic and Play by Play Classics tournaments.

"While there had been discussions about Donda Academy's participation in the 2023 Hoophall Classic, they will not be included in our upcoming announcement of the showcase's field," said Greg Procino, vice president at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which hosts the Spalding Hoophall Classic.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times quoted Play by Play tournament organizers as saying that "Kanye's words and actions violate our values as a company and a country."

The team appeared on the cover of Slam Magazine in January, posing alongside one-time presidential candidate Ye in gray Balenciaga uniforms.

With the players coming from all across the U.S., the Donda Academy players have been put up in a luxury apartment building with chaperones, according to Rolling Stone.

Another draw to the school is the choir, with up to seven children from that program having successfully auditioned to sing as part of West's invite-only Sunday Services.

Few other details are known about Donda Academy, which reportedly required that parents of prospective students sign nondisclosure agreements. Andrews told Rolling Stone that parents had been asked to sign an "informal agreement."

Ye's children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian also attend Sierra Canyon, but in text messages shared on West's Instagram account that he purportedly sent to her, the musician wrote that he wanted their children to attend Donda Academy.

A Fresh Start?

While the wide-ranging fallout from Ye's comments continues, Angell said in his email to the parents of Donda Academy students that the school plans to reopen next fall.

According to The Times, Angell stated that Donda Academy "begin afresh in September of 2023."

The email continued: "Our leadership team will be working diligently to assist all families during this transition, ensuring that every scholar has what they need to succeed in their next community in a prompt and gracious manner."

"We are confident that our scholars will continue to advance as the creative innovators, courageous influencers and academic leaders of the next generation," the email concluded.

Producer and Ye collaborator Malik Yusef, told Rolling Stone last month that he helped shape the school's concept. Ye's five-year plan, according to Yusef, is to open several campuses across the U.S.

At the time, Yusef and Andrews also spoke of the programs the school offered, including fashion courses, Japanese language classes, lessons on restorative justice instruction, and STEM classes.

"With Donda Academy, the curriculum has been built his whole life," said Yusef. "Education is kind of a group effort. It takes a village to raise the child, these conceptualizations.

"At length, we spoke about how we want to have people educated and how the education system fails the majority of people, not just some people."

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of West and Donda Academy for comment.