Adidas Terminates Its Relationship With Kanye West

Adidas has terminated its relationship with Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, after the rapper made a series of anti-semitic statements in an interview on Fox News and on social media. The sportswear giant was under growing pressure to cut ties with the Yeezy founder, whose incendiary comments have been condemned by high-profile figures. On 21 October, Kering confirmed that Balenciaga – for whom Ye walked the spring/summer 2023 runway just three weeks ago – “has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist”. Ye parted ways with Gap in September.

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-semitism and any other sort of hate speech,” a statement on the brand’s website reads. “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.”  

 

The company is ending production of all Yeezy branded products, and will stop all payments to the rapper and his companies with immediate effect. Adidas estimates a “short-term negative impact of up to 250 million Euro (£217 million) on the company’s net income in 2022” as a result.

On 24 October, Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian condemned hate speech in a tweet, calling for an end to “terrible violence and hateful rhetoric” directed at the Jewish community. Her tweet made no reference to her former spouse, whose increasingly erratic behaviour has frequently made headlines in recent months.