As Fashionista reports, Adidas has ended its business relationship with Kanye West — now known as Ye — after he made a series of public white supremacist and antisemitic statements.
Adidas first partnered with the artist in 2013, going on to build a wildly successful sneaker line that in many ways defined the decade in sneaker culture, Yeezy. In a statement published on Tuesday — weeks after Ye’s problematic remarks — the company said it was putting an end to the Adidas-Yeezy business.
The partnership had reportedly brought in billions for Adidas and accounted for a substantial portion of its business, a reason some speculate as to why the company took so long to take action or make any sort of public comment on the matter.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. 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 said via a statement.
The end of the partnership involves stopping production of Yeezy-branded products and an end of all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will share more information about this decision during its Q3 earnings announcement on Nov. 9.
By making this move, Adidas joins a growing list of people, organizations and companies severing ties with Ye over his most recent outbursts. According to Business Insider, major companies like Balenciaga, Gap and Vogue have also ended business relationships or distanced themselves from the artist.
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