Kanye West Selling $50 Church Socks, and People Have Thoughts

Kanye West brought his Sunday Service to Coachella, but fans are feeling anything but spiritual [...]

By Caitlyn Hitt

Kanye West brought his Sunday Service to Coachella, but fans are feeling anything but spiritual after seeing the prices of the accompanying merchandise.

The "I Love It" rapper debuted an all-new collection, complete with $70 T-shirts, $225 sweatshirts and, perhaps most outrageously — $50 socks. While die-hard fans of West went absolutely gaga over the range, others thought the prices were absolute blasphemy.

After the collection debuted as Coachella, Twitter was flooded with reactions to the design and the exorbitant price. One user joked that West "is indeed the scam god" for selling a $50 pair of socks. Another tweeted, "You can get $50 Kanye 'CHURCH SOCKS' or you can spiritualize your feet with the socks the Pope wears for just 20 euro!" West hasn't weighed in on the criticism, nor has wife Kim Kardashian.

"Trust me, Jesus wants you to walk in humility not in Kanye's $50 'Jesus walks' socks. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and give the $225 for a 'Holy Spirit' jumper to the poor," one Twitter user said.

"The pricing on Kanye's Sunday Service Coachella merch. He needs to pray to the Holy Spirit his damn self that people are gonna buy his $50 socks," another tweeted.

"Mr. West, I want to believe that you're not using God's name on your merch for your own profit," another said. "I want to believe you're supporting a ministry in [your] local church, 'cause boy if you're profiting on Jesus name that won't save you a place in his kingdom."

Overpriced socks aren't the only thing West is getting flack over, however. Some critics seem to think Sunday Service is in service of inflating the rapper's ego, rather than God, or spirituality.

Okay Player noted that the weekly gathering looked "more like a celebrity cult" than a church service, comparing it to Hillsong or Rajneeshpuram, a community set up in the Oregon hillside for followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Per the outlet the private services, which have been ongoing since January, feature West as the "preacher," performing in front of a live band a choir, dressed in matching monochrome outfits. There are often special guest performances from stars like Kid Cudi and Charlie Wilson.

The services are non-denominational, according to Okay Player. West's cousin, Tony Williams, explained to the outlet, "the goal is to administer and communicate the message of love effectively." West's services are intended to be a celebration of Black Christian music, with the set list consisting heavily of his own songs, many of which sample religious melodies. An insider told PEOPLE the service is "a way to point people to Jesus through the arts and through a community of people who love and care for each other." Attendees have included Diplo, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, David Letterman, Courtney Love, Orlando Bloom, and more.

West has been criticized in the past for calling himself "a God." He addressed the controversy in an interview with BBC Radio 1, and continued referring to himself as such for a time. He then released "The Life of Pablo," which featured many spiritual samplings and references to God. West has scaled back on his references to religion, and referring to himself as God or God-like.

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