After a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial musician Kanye West, German sportswear firm Adidas severed all connections with him on Tuesday.
Adidas stated in a statement that “The business has decided to immediately sever its association with Ye following a careful examination. Halt making the wildly popular “Yeezy” line that West and you collaborated on, and “stop all payments to Ye and his firms.”
After West showed up at a fashion show in Paris wearing a shirt that read “White Lives Matter,” Adidas started a review of their partnership with him earlier this month.
Adidas stated on Tuesday that West’s remarks “violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and justice.”
The artist had a long-standing relationship with Nike before severing ties in 2013. He then lent Adidas his name as they launched the first Yeezy shoe together in 2015, a deal that helped him become a billionaire.
Rights activists and influential members of the entertainment industry had been putting increasing pressure on Adidas to discontinue collaborating with West.
Last week, the rapper’s sponsor, the Paris-based fashion label Balenciaga, cut ties with him, declaring that it “no longer (had) any contact with this artist nor any plans for future initiatives associated with this artist.”
West was also dropped by one of Hollywood’s largest talent agencies, CAA, on Monday, and a documentary about the musician was shelved by the film and television company MRC. West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian and entertainment agency Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel both denounce the rapper’s comments.
Emanuel stated, “Those who continue to do business with West are giving his foolish hatred an audience.” “There should be zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in the West anywhere.” The abrupt closure of the collaboration is predicted to reduce Adidas’s net profits by “up to 250 million euros ($246 million)” in 2022.
