Adidas has ended its partnership with Yeezy, saying Kanye West’s recent comments, which include antisemitic outbursts and white supremacist taglines, “have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.” The company said it “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” and that it would “terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.” The statement estimated a short-term cost to Adidas of €250 million, or about $246 million.
The Adidas Yeezy partnership, said to be a billion-dollar-plus pillar of West’s net worth, launched in 2016 and had been set to run through 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal. In a statement last month, Adidas said that “after repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation,” the Adidas Yeezy partnership was “under review.” The company added that it would continue to co-manage the current products during the review period. West himself had also claimed he was considering planning to end the collaboration.
In response to today’s Adidas news, the American Jewish Committee said in a statement, “We welcome this decisive if belated action by Adidas. The company called his comments unacceptable and dangerous in ending West’s most lucrative business partnership. We agree. West has shown no remorse or contrition for his string of antisemitic remarks filled with hate and lies. He believed that as long as the money kept rolling in he could speak with impunity. Other companies that profit from associating with West must also disabuse him of that notion.”
West’s antisemitism and far-right dalliances have alienated many of his professional circles in recent weeks; his booking agency and attorney have walked out, and a completed documentary on West was pulled by MRC—the production company said it “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.” Balenciaga cut ties with him, too, and Lebron James’ production company canned an episode of The Shop: Uninterrupted that West had used “to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes,” according to its statement. In the meantime, West agreed to buy the rightwing social media site Parler.
Earlier this month, West responded to CNBC’s report of the partnership review by writing, “FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS” on Instagram. He added an accusation that the company was stealing his designs—a claim he has often repeated—and criticized Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted and the company’s senior vice president and general manager, Daniel Cherry III.
Earlier this year, West terminated his partnership with Gap. In addition to the antisemitic comments, he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week alongside conservative provocateur Candace Owens, whose husband owns Parler.
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