Kanye West has been dropped by Adidas following his antisemitic comments.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement on 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 continued: “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.”
Adidas, West’s biggest corporate partner, started working with the rapper/designer in 2013 to make and distribute items from his Yeezy clothing line. The first product from the collaboration was released in 2015, and sales are estimated to be around $2 billion annually, or 10% of Adidas’s total sales, according to Fortune.
The deal was to be in place through 2026, but West has been critical of the German brand for months now, accusing CEO Kasper Rorsted of “copying my ideas” for other products.
Ye’s rants have escalated in recent weeks, and after his “White Live Matter” T-shirt stunt at the YZY show at Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 3, the company said in a statement that it was reviewing the relationship.
However, West went on to spew antisemitic remarks and taunt the company. On the Oct. 16 episode of Drink Champs podcast, he said, “I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what? Now what?”
The video led to calls for the brand to drop him immediately — and those calls have only escalated as outrage grows over the antisemitic remarks. Late last week, Balenciaga cut ties with West. Talent agency CAA dropped West as a client on Monday — after an antisemitic group showed support for West’s hate speech, posting a sign above L.A’s 405 freeway on Saturday that said, “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
Further, West’s music streams and airplay have taken a nosedive. The educational consultant for West’s private school, Donda Academy, has resigned. And yesterday West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, spoke out against antisemitism, though not mentioning the father of her four children by name.
Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 24, 2022
