11 May 23rd-May 29th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | ruling by the federal judge in Wyoming and has filed a notice of appeal. If the appellate court buys his argument, the claim against Sproul in Arizona could revert to Wyoming. The Wyoming attorney repre- senting West in the lawsuit did not reply to New Times’ requests for comment. Wherever the case is heard, Vickery will have to be on his A game. Sproul’s companies have faced allegations of misconduct in the past, prompting federal and state investigations. Each time, Sproul has emerged untarnished by legal conse- quences. As a result, Sproul’s become a bête noire for Democrats. But Sproul is a more complicated figure than a mere bogeyman for the left. A former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, Sproul has opposed extremist elements in the state party. In 2008, he ran an independent expenditure committee targeting anti-immigrant legis- lator and eventual state Senate President Russell Pearce. “I did it because I believe somebody needed to stand up and ask the question of what we want the Republican Party in Arizona to stand for,” Sproul said at the time. “What Russell Pearce wants it to stand for is not what I want it to stand for.” Off the deep end Sproul’s involvement with West was part of a wider plan by Sproul to expand his consulting efforts beyond Republican politics. Though his two firms share the same Tempe address, Sproul started Fortified Consulting to work with inde- pendent campaigns, while Lincoln Strategy handles mostly Republican business. Working with West seems to have been lucrative. The $4.8 million West’s campaign paid Fortified Consulting accounted for more than one-third of the $13.2 million Kanye 2020 spent in disbursements. Most of that came from West’s own pocket — the rap mogul lent his campaign $12.4 million, raising only $2 million in individual contributions, much of it from the sale of campaign swag. But that $4.8 million is gross total, Sproul was quick to point out, not net income. Fortified Consulting “made only a small percentage of that number” due to expenses, many of which related to getting West on the ballot. “At one point, we had hundreds and hundreds of petition circulators spread out across the country, simultaneously gath- ering signatures,” Sproul said. It was an effort Sproul felt was worth it at the time. Since his 2020 presidential run, though, West’s actions have grown even more erratic, veering down a sometimes racist, sometimes antisemitic path. In 2021 alone, West wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week, promised to go “death con 3 on Jewish people” in a tweet, praised Adolf Hitler in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and tweeted an image of a swastika blended with a Star of David. West is no longer on X. He reportedly deleted his account in April, shortly after announcing on the platform that he was entering the porn production business. As a result, West — who legally changed his name to “Ye” that same year — has been condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and many of his fellow celebrities. Major brands such as Balenciaga, Gap and Adidas cut ties with him. Both Universal Music Group and CAA, West’s talent agency, dropped him. And West’s net worth took a major hit, knocking him off Forbes’ billionaire list, with the money mag pegging his new net worth as $400 million after Adidas dumped him. West had expressed interest in running for president again in the 2024 campaign, but his personal attorney told Rolling Stone in October 2023 that West was “not a candidate for office in 2024.” Still, with $400 million in the bank, West could afford to drop another $12 million on a second futile presidential bid. Would Sproul work West again should that happen? His answer to that follow-up question was immediate and direct. “No,” Sproul wrote via text message. “His antisemitic comments were a red line.” Riding the Kanye West rollercoaster can be a thrilling experience. But you may not want to do it more than once. In the years since abandoning his bid for president, Kanye West has made repeated racist and antisemitic comments and social media posts. (Photo by Jason Persse/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr) Yeezy Money from p 7
