Adidas snaps ties with Kanye West over his antisemitic remarks

The company will stop making Yeezy products and expects a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million.

Adidas, on Tuesday, terminated its relationship with Kanye West, now known as Ye, after his recent antisemitic comments.

After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, 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, said the mass-market apparel giant in a statement.

Adidas further said the move is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter.

Ye’s relationship with Adidas, born a decade ago, was unstable. As per CNBC, the rapper has been publicly critical of Adidas and its CEO. “… calling out CEO Kasper Rorsted and posting pictures of board members. In early September, Kanye posted a doctored image of a New York Times front page falsely claiming Rorsted had died.”

This corporate uncoupling is not only for Ye's antisemitic remarks but sees origins in him wearing and promoting a White Lives Matter slogan-bearing T-shirt at the recently concluded Parish Fashion Week. It prompted the Adidas to put its relationship with Ye under "review".

Many consider the slogan a hate statement and associated with far-right extremist groups.

Ye’s recent deteriorating behaviour has turned him from a brand favourite to a pariah. Balenciaga and Vogue denounced their relationship with the rapper who, earlier this year, severed his partnership with Gap, an American clothing giant.