American singer Matthew Koma raises roughly $18K for Holocaust survivors with anti-Kanye West shirt

About 40,000 Holocaust survivors are living in the US, Pearl said. Among the survivors that Blue Card assists, three-quarters are over the age of 78, according to its website.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

American musician Matthew Koma has helped raise roughly $18,000 to aid Holocaust survivors with the sale of shirts that directly respond to the decision of Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, to sell shirts featuring a Nazi swastika.

Koma, who is Jewish and the husband of American singer and actress Hilary Duff, began selling the “F—k Ye” white t-shirts on Tuesday, and all proceeds are being donated to Blue Card, a nonprofit organization that provides direct financial assistance to needy Holocaust survivors living in America.

The shirts feature the anti-Ye message on the front and sell for $20. They are sold two ways — with the profanity spelled out in full or with asterisks.

Masha Pearl, executive director of Blue Card, told TMZ that although final sale numbers have not been tallied yet, the charity’s website has already received around $18,000 in donations because of Koma’s help drawing awareness to the organization.

Koma is also matching the donations being given to Blue Card, Pearl told TMZ. He added that because of all the publicity, more Holocaust survivors have also reached out to the charity for help, including with trauma assistance and emotional support.

“We are so grateful to Matthew Koma and Hilary Duff for quickly springing into action and realizing that this is not OK and that they have to do something, and utilizing fashion to get the word out there,” she said.

“They learned about Blue Card on their own, reached out and had quickly created the t-shirts and had spread this on social media — both Matthew and Hillary … It’s a way for people to feel that they’re doing something positive and not just innocently standing by.”

There are about 40,000 Holocaust survivors living in the US, Pearl said. Among the survivors that Blue Card assists, three-quarters are over the age of 78, according to its website.

Nearly 70 percent of the Holocaust survivors that the charity aids live alone, and many of them struggle to afford necessities such food and health care. M

ore than half of them also live 200 percent below the federal poverty line, with an income of less than $24,980 annually.

Koma began selling the “F–K Ye” shirts after the rapper went on a rabid antisemitic rant on X – during which he called himself a Nazi and racist – and then proceeded to sell on Yeezy.com a white t-shirt emblazoned with a black swastika, a symbol of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party that is also used by far-right extremists.

The “Flashing Lights” singer also aired a commercial during Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night that drew attention to Yeezy.com and the shirt, which was being sold online until Tuesday morning, when Ye’s website was shut down.

Commenting on Ye’s recent antisemitic behavior, Pearl said: “I don’t want to attack him personally. When I denounced his actions, I don’t denounce him as a person. I can’t speak to his mental health. But I do see is someone who is exhibiting very hateful and very dangerous behavior that has serious ramifications.”

“I don’t even want to say this rap artist’s name because I think so much of what he does is for shock value and attention,” she added.

“And this is such a dangerous rhetoric that is being spread, which has enormous ramifications. This is promoting Nazism and atrocities of millions of people being murdered, including children, and this is something that is completely unacceptable and should be denounced in every which shape and form.”