Adidas Ends Kanye West Collaboration After Anti-Semitic Statements

Adidas has ended its partnership with rapper Kanye “Ye” West. The German sportswear brand announced this in a statement on Tuesday.

The move is due to recent anti-Semitic statements by the American, who has been collaborating with Adidas with his brand Yeezy since 2015.

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech. Ye’s recent statements and actions are unacceptable, hateful and dangerous,” the statement said. As a result, the company has decided to end the collaboration immediately. That means no more products from the Yeezy line will be made, and no more payments will be made to Ye and its companies.

For Adidas itself, the decision will also have negative consequences. The company is expected to suffer a financial blow of $250 million due to the decision.

Kanye West, who previously had his name changed to Ye, has recently come under fire from several sides. The artist made anti-Semitic statements in various interviews and tweets. As a result of his statements, the rapper was denied access to his social media accounts. Earlier, the fashion house Balenciaga and the American agency Creative Artists Agency stopped all their collaboration with the artist.

West also broke with fashion store chain Gap, with whom the artist has collaborated since 2020. The artist’s lawyers said that the clothing group had included too little West-designed clothing in its range, which would go against the agreements.