Last week, Kanye West and The Game released a collaborative track titled ‘Eazy’ that saw Ye touch on his divorce from Kim Kardashian and take a swipe at her new love interest, comedian Pete Davidson.
The song also garnered attention for its intense cover art, a graphic image of a skinned monkey, which was first shared on the rappers’ Instagram accounts to promote the track ahead of its arrival.
Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have spoken about the artwork, saying the “disturbing” image is a reminder that “there’s no real difference between humans & other animals” in a tweet. “Their lives aren’t easy when we abuse & kill them for food, experiments, clothing, or entertainment.”
Speaking to Billboard, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk elaborated in a statement: “The photo is reminiscent of the monkeys PETA has found, sometimes heads, sometimes hands, sometimes the whole body, in meat markets around the world and it makes it clear that when you remove the fur you can’t miss that there’s a person in there, that they are fellow primates, and do not belong to us to abuse for any purpose – not in laboratories, roadside zoos, movies, or meat markets.”
Neither Yeezy nor The Game have responded to Newkirk or PETA. Since its release, the image has been flagged as sensitive content. As it stands, it’s currently The Game’s profile picture on the platform.
‘Eazy’ marked the latest in a long history of collaborations between Ye and The Game, with The Game featuring on Kanye’s Late Registration cut ‘Crack Music’ and Yeezy returning the favour on The Game’s 2007 single ‘Wouldn’t Get Far’.
