Adidas says it's cutting ties with Kanye West over his recent 'hateful and dangerous' comments
Adidas said Tuesday it is ending its Yeezy partnership with Kanye West.
It cited his "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous" comments and actions.
Ye wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt and has made multiple antisemitic comments in recent weeks.
Adidas has cut ties with Kanye West, now known as Ye, the sportswear company confirmed on Tuesday. The German company had manufactured and sold sneakers under Ye's Yeezy brand.
"Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the company said. "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."
Adidas said that it had terminated the partnership with Ye "after a thorough review," adding that it would end production of Yeezy-branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.
"Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect," it added.
Adidas said earlier this month that it was reviewing its partnership with Ye, without specifying a reason.
Bloomberg had reported earlier on Tuesday that Adidas planned to end its partnership with the rapper because of his offensive behavior.
In early October, Ye drew criticism after wearing a shirt with the words "White Lives Matter," a phrase which has been linked to white supremacist groups. Ye told Fox host Tucker Carlson that he wore the shirt because it was "funny" and because he thought the motto was correct.
Just days afterwards, he posted an antisemitic tirade on Twitter, including saying he was "going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE." Twitter locked his account for violating its policies.
A string of other companies have scrambled to sever ties with Ye, including luxury fashion brand Balenciaga, fashion magazine Vogue, whose editor Ye had targeted online, and even banking giant JPMorgan, according to a report.
On Monday alone, both talent agency CAA and film and TV studio MRC, which was set to release documentary about him that had already been completed, followed suit.
Ye told Bloomberg in September that he didn't want to work with Adidas and Gap after his contracts expire and instead planned to operate his fashion empire independently.
"It's time for me to go it alone," he said. "No more companies standing in between me and the audience."
Ye sent a letter to Gap in mid-September saying he was ending their working relationship, with his lawyer citing "substantial noncompliance."
Forbes reported that when Ye's partnership with Adidas was first drawn up, he got a 15% royalty on wholesale revenue. Bloomberg reported that the Yeezy business made $191 million in royalties from the Adidas deal in 2020, citing a document prepared by UBS Group. Ye's agreement with Adidas was set to expire in 2026.
Adidas said that the termination of the partnership was expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to 250 million euros ($246 million) on the company's net income in 2022 "given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter."
The company said that it was the "sole owner" of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be given at the company's third-quarter earnings announcement on November 9, it said.
An Adidas spokesperson had previously said that its partnership with Yeezy "is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry's history."
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