LONDON, England – Adidas has ceased its alliance with the rapper previously known as Kanye West due to his hostile and antisemitic remarks, becoming the latest company to do so and making a decision that the German sportswear company said would have an impact on its bottom line.
“Adidas doesn’t really condone antisemitism or any type of hate speech,” the company stated in a press release released on Tuesday. “Ye’s recent comments and actions are inappropriate, hateful, as well as dangerous, and they go against the company’s values of inclusion and diversity mutual respect, and fair treatment.”
Adidas was under pressure to end ties with Ye, with celebrities and other individuals on social media urging the company to do so. It announced at the start of the month that it had signed a hugely profitable sneaker deal with the rap star which was under review.
Adidas announced on Tuesday that it had conducted a “comprehensive review” and it would immediately halt production of its Yeezy line as well as payouts to Ye and his companies.
The move is expected to cost the sportswear company up to 250 million euros ($246 million) in net earnings this year.
Adidas is the latest company to cut ties with Ye, who has also been restricted from Instagram and Twitter for anti-Semitic posts that the social media platforms claim violate their guidelines.
Ye recently suggested that slavery was an option and referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as the “mark of the beast,” among many other things.
He was also chastised for wearing a T-shirt with the words “White Lives Matter” to his Yeezy collection show in Paris.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, the Balenciaga fashion house severed ties with Ye last week.
JPMorganChase and Ye have ceased their business arrangement, though the banking split was planned before Ye’s anti-Semitic remarks.
In recent weeks, Ye has also terminated his company’s relationship with Gap and told Bloomberg that he intends to cut ties with his corporate providers.
Following his suspension from Twitter and Facebook, Ye offered to purchase the conservative social media network Parler.
Demonstrators on a Los Angeles overpass unfolded a banner praising Ye’s anti-Jewish remarks on Saturday, sparking an outcry on social media from celebrities and others who said they support Jewish people.
