Adidas ends deal with Kanye West over anti-Semitic statements

Adidas cut ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, on Tuesday following the singer's harsh and antisemitic remarks.

Adidas stated in a statement that it does not accept "hate speech" of any kind, including "antisemitism". Ye has recently made remarks and taken acts that are undesirable, dangerous, and against the company's principles of inclusiveness, respect, and fairness.

The Herzogenaurach, Germany-based business announced it will dissolve the partnership right away, stop making products with the Yeezy name, and stop paying Ye and his businesses.

Given the high seasonality in the fourth quarter, it was predicted that this could have a short-term negative effect on net income in 2022 of up to 250 million euros ($246 million), according to CNBC.

It was unclear what would happen to Ye after the conclusion of their nearly ten-year association, which was considered as extremely lucrative for both Ye and Adidas. Ye has been one of the most powerful pop musicians in recent decades, but has recently grown more divisive and untrustworthy. Ye's longstanding record label, Def Jam, announced that his contract had ended last year and that he is no longer represented by CAA, his old talent agency.

West pushed the limits of acceptable conduct over the past month. He wore a shirt with the phrase "White Lives Matter," which the Anti-Defamation League has deemed to be hate speech and which the white supremacist movement has adopted, at his YZYSZN9 Paris Fashion Week presentation. Shortly after, he made antisemitic comments in interviews and on social media, including a tweet in which he threatened to "go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE."

Although Adidas was one of the first of Yeezy's corporate partners to publicly declare — on Oct. 6 — that it had placed the connection under "examination," the fact that the business took so long to formally terminate the ties started to hurt.

Adidas seemed to have been taking its time, possibly waiting for a formal apology that might help things turn around, like many of Ye's other relationships in the fashion industry. 

Ye's accounts were suspended on Instagram and Twitter. Entertainment businesses were urged to discontinue working with Ye by Ari Emanuel of Endeavor, the parent business of the talent agency WME. The fashion company Balenciaga, which collaborated with Ye on his Yeezy Gap project (which ended in September) and featured Ye in its fashion show opening in Paris this month, removed him from its photos and videos of the event. Similar pictures vanished from Vogue Runway, the official platform for runway shows, and the publication declared it "had no intention" to continue working with Ye.