Adidas ends partnership with Kanye West over antisemitic remarks
Adidas has ended its partnership with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West over his offensive and antisemitic remarks.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.
It comes after the German sportswear company faced pressure to cut ties with Ye, with celebrities and others on social media urging Adidas to act. The company said at the beginning of the month that it was placing its lucrative sneaker deal with the rapper under review.
Adidas is just the latest company to end connections with Ye, who also has been suspended from Twitter and Instagram over antisemitic posts that the social networks said violated their policies.
He recently suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast,” among other comments. He was also criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Yeezy collection show in Paris.
Ye’s talent agency, CAA, dropped him, and the MRC studio announced Monday that it is shelving a complete documentary about him.
The Balenciaga fashion house cut ties with Ye last week, according to Women’s Wear Daily. JPMorganChase and Ye have ended their business relationship, although the banking breakup was in the works even before Ye’s antisemitic comments.
In recent weeks, Ye has also ended his company’s association with Gap and has told Bloomberg that he plans to cut ties with his corporate suppliers.
After he was suspended from Twitter and Facebook, Ye offered to buy conservative social network Parler.
Demonstrators on a Los Angeles overpass Saturday unfurled a banner praising Ye’s antisemitic comments, prompting an outcry on social media as celebrities and others said they stand with Jewish people.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.
After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.
This is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to 250 million on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter.
Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be given as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9, 2022.”
