Clothing giant Adidas has cut ties with rapper Kanye West, saying it “does not tolerate anti-Semitism or hate speech of any kind.”
West’s collaboration with Adidas’ Yeezy brand was revisited after he unveiled his “White Lives Matter” t‑shirt design at Paris Fashion Week.
A few days later, the rapper posted an anti-Semitic comment on his Twitter account.
Adidas has announced that his products will be discontinued with immediate effect.
The sportswear brand has previously said that the collaboration between the Yeezy brand and Ye is one of the most successful in the company’s history.
The severing of the partnership means Adidas will post a net profit of £217m in 2022 as a result.
Ye previously accused Adidas of stealing his designs in a now-deleted Instagram post.
“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or other hate speech,” Adidas said in a statement Tuesday. Ye’s recent statements and actions are unacceptable, hateful, dangerous, and contrary to our values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Instagram and Twitter suspended Ye’s account for several days following his anti-Semitic remarks. His business partners have also come under pressure, with JP Morgan in banking and Gap in clothing announcing in October that they would end ties with Ye.
Ye accused Gap of not following the terms of the deal, including not opening a standalone store for its fashion brand Yeezy.
Adidas reviewed their relationship after Ye showed them the White Lives Matters T‑shirt, but the company didn’t say the collection was the reason for the review.
According to the BBC, Ye decided to review the partnership after being accused of “stealing the design” and “repeatedly trying to resolve it personally”.
The term “Black Lives Matter”, a term used to describe opposition to racism and police brutality, became popular after the summer of 2020 in Minneapolis, where police officers killed an unarmed black man, George Floyd. .
Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga and talent scouting firm Creative Artists Agency also cut ties with the rapper in early October.
Film and television production company MRC announced Monday that it will no longer air its recently completed documentary about the rapper.
“Kanye” is a music producer and sampler. Last week, he sampled and remixed a classic that has been on the charts for over 3,000 years. The lie that the Jews are evil and conspiring to rule the world for their own benefit” As the leader of this company (Jewish, Muslim, Christian), I feel obligated to inform everyone of this vicious and horrifying use of false logic,” the MRC wrote on Monday.
Adidas stock fell 8% after the announcement, but has since slowed down.
In its latest earnings forecast released in October, Adidas warned that a weaker business in China and weak consumer demand in key markets in Europe and the United States would weigh on its 2022 earnings forecast. The company also announced in August that current president Kasper Rorsted would be leaving the company in 2023, and is looking for a new CEO.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said, “Adidas has finally teamed up with other brands and agencies to cut ties with Ye.” None of this would have happened without the nearly 175,000 signatures and the celebrities and influencers on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world who helped promote and amplify the message. ”
The rapper has also fallen down the list of Forbes billionaires. The magazine estimates that losing the affiliation with Adidas reduced Ye’s net worth from $1.5 billion to $400 million.
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