Kanye West Lost Its Contract With Adidas That Made Him A Billionaire
The German sportswear manufacturer Adidas has decided to terminate its contract with rapper Kanye West.
Why did the famous brand abruptly stop its collaboration with Kanye West, known from 2021 as "Ye"? Because of his anti-Semitic comments made in recent weeks, Adidas argued.
"Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other type of hate speech. Ye's recent comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness," the sports equipment company.
In fact, the rapper has been dropped by several major companies and Kanye West's Instagram and Twitter accounts have been suspended. For example, last week, the renowned fashion house Balenciaga also decided to end its collaboration with the rapper.
Adidas Terminated Its Contract With Kanye West
The decision will cost Adidas around 250 million euros due to the termination of its collaboration with the rapper. The partnership between the two parties ran until 2026, and in 2020 brought in more than €1 billion in revenue for Adidas, according to AFP
"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."
The collaboration between Adidas and the US hip-hop star has long been one of the most lucrative in the fashion industry. Developed since the year 2014, the rapper's Yeezy sneaker collection has been a phenomenal success and helped Kanye West become a billionaire.
Trouble Between Kanye West And Adidas
Relations between Adidas and Kanye West have deteriorated considerably in recent months due to several controversial actions or statements by the rapper.
Kanye West was suspended on Twitter after posting a message saying he would attack Jews. The post has since been deleted from the social network for violating its rules of operation. The rapper was also suspended from Instagram.
Prior to those controversial posts, the rapper had criticized certain commercial initiatives that Adidas had allegedly taken without his consent.
The German company announced in early October that it would review its business relationship with Kanye West.
Adidas reiterated that it is the "sole owner of all design rights for existing products (...) within the partnership", anticipating a possible legal battle in the future.
Kanye West, who has revealed he suffers from bipolar disorder, had already received a 24-hour ban from posting on Instagram in March in the wake of his highly publicized divorce from reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
The rapper is known for his eccentricities, from his failed bid for the US presidency to his declared war on the music industry to his plan to perform in Russia and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Why Kanye West Changed His Name To "Ye"
Kanye West changed his name to "Ye" last August.
"I believe 'ye' is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means 'you.' So I'm you, I'm us, it's us. It went from Kanye, which means 'the only one,' to just Ye - just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything," he explained at the time.
