Keyshia Cole Admits Pulling Son From Donda Academy Out Of Fear Of Kanye West
By Fiyin Olowokandi on November 5, 2022 at 12:30 PM EDT
Keyshia Cole does not take risks where her family is concerned!
As a proud mother with two wonderful children, the 41-year-old could no longer support Kanye "Ye" West's Donda Academy following the rapper's recent string of alarming tweets. The songstress removed her 12-year-old son, DJ, from the unaccredited institution after her "I Changed My Mind" song collaborator threatened to "shoot the school up."
Keyshia Cole Joins List Of Concerned Parents Withdrawing Their Wards From Donda Academy
Last month, Ye raised several eyebrows with his unprovoked Twitter rants and antisemitic remarks. However, the most disturbing message contained a foreboding statement about his private educational facility.
In a since-deleted tweet, the YEEZY founder claimed he would attack a school. Although he did not name the institution, many assumed his message was directed at the Donda Academy. Not taking any chances, parents like Cole immediately disenrolled their children.
On October 27, the "Let It Go" artist revealed on Twitter that her son no longer attended the institution. This announcement came in response to one of the platform users who questioned the principle of parents. The worried individual wrote:
"Donda Academy shut down, and I have to ask… what kind of parent sends a kid to an unaccredited religious indoctrination center where you have to sign an NDA to enroll?"
This person wondered how anyone with a child would listen to Ye and believe they could trust him with the educational growth and safety of their loved ones. Another person tagged the "Heaven Sent" singer in the tweet, promoting Cole's response.
"I took my DJ out of Donda sadly after ye said he was back to shoot the school up, that scared me a bit," the 41-year-old explained. In a second tweet, the mother-of-two refuted the speculations of a non-disclosure agreement. In her words:
"And there was no NDA signed," the Oakland native noted, "Idk who may have, but that wasn't brought up to us."
Following her tweets, several fans wanted to know what truly happened behind the doors of Ye's mysterious private school. However, some social media users slammed the "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" star for putting her son in an unaccredited institution and hoped she learned a valuable lesson from this event. On the same note, a few people were not convinced about the NDA.
Unfortunately, the alleged enrollment prerequisite was the least of Donda Academy's problems. Earlier this month, The Blast reported that the school's future remained uncertain, like its founder's unpredictable actions. Following the backlash Ye received for his antisemitic comments, the institution announced its plans to shut down.
A day after the news, the Hip-hop superstar reversed his decision to close and reopened the school. However, how can an institution function without staff? According to Malik Yusef, several members had quit their positions at the academy.
The "Praise God" rapper's friend revealed that Jewish staffers packed their bags because of Ye's "ridiculous" statements. One of the star administrators lost was Tamar Andrews, a highly-respected education consultant.
When asked about the institution founder's ballistic behavior and controversial statements, the former Donda staff member said: "Critical thinking is what Donda is about, and I don’t think Kanye applied critical thinking."
Has Kanye West's Academy Been A Mess From The Start?
Ye's name will forever be engraved in history regarding pop culture influencers, especially in the rap genre. The record producer has impacted the music industry in various ways, but his educational pursuits are a different ball game.
As shared by The Blast, the AMA winner built the Donda Academy as a tribute to his late mother, Dr. Donda West. The institution covered over 3 acres of land in Simi Valley and came to fruition in October. The school described itself as a "world-class" educational system emphasizing "creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving." However, sources claimed otherwise.
According to insiders, parents were not allowed to discuss the academy's inner workings as NDAs were signed during the enrollment process. Then-staffer, Andrews, confirmed this speculation. The institution's consultant explained that parents signed a type of "informal agreement" but did not specify if these documents were NDAs.
Additionally, sources claimed that the "Runaway" rapper hired inexperienced staff members with little academic background. For example, the Principal and Executive Director, Brianne Campbell, has reportedly never held a formal educator position before joining the Donda Academy.