Is Kanye West is flirting with a career crash with his association with Trump?

Kanye West has spent the bulk of his career as a disrupter, unafraid to court controversy with provocative music and opinions.

He famously declared that then-President George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black people” following Hurricane Katrina. He interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards (causing former President Obama to label him a “jackass”), criticized the music and fashion industries for their treatment of black creatives and blasted homophobia within hip-hop.

Yet West’s recent moves — professing his love for President Trump, whose policies and rhetoric are often seen as divisive demagoguery, and deeming slavery a “choice” during an erratic interview with TMZ — have ignited the biggest firestorm of all.

Aside from the cultural implications of his actions (which have disheartened many of his most devoted fans), others also wonder what this will mean for West’s career. His right-wing turnabout could torpedo a forthcoming album and impact future tour sales and fashion revenues, which depend on the goodwill of young, tastemaking audiences.

From Jane Fonda and the Vietnam War to the Dixie Chicks and the Iraq War, celebrities have learned that taking a strong political stand can have major consequences. That blowback has only intensified in an era of social media explosiveness.

But West — a best-selling and highly decorated artist — has weathered plenty of controversies before. Will the online furor over his politics translate into career struggles or, in this era of a nonstop news firehose, will it end up as just another Kanye-being-Kanye moment?….

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