Adidas has ended its partnership with Kanye West after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks and embraced a slogan associated with white supremacists that earned him widespread condemnation.
The rapper’s suspension from Instagram and Twitter due to offensive posts prompted the German sportswear giant to declare on Tuesday, October 25, that it “does not tolerate antisemitism.”
Adidas further stated that Kanye West’s recent statements and deeds were “unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they go against the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.”
After deciding to discontinue the brand’s business with immediate effect, the company stated that it would suffer a “short-term” loss of €250 million (£217 million) in revenue for this year.
It aims to halt Yeezy product production as well as all payments to Kanye West and his businesses. According to Bloomberg, the partnership, which was set to end in 2026, generated close to $1.7 billion in revenue for Adidas in 2020.
After West’s contentious Paris show earlier this month, where models walked the catwalk wearing “White Lives Matter” shirts, Adidas put the agreement up for review. Adidas’ action follows the severing of ties with West by Balenciaga, Gap, and JPMorgan Chase. Kanye recently asserted that Adidas was unable to fire him despite calls for a boycott following his remarks.
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