Kanye West Suffers Biggest Business Blow Yet As Personal Controversies Rage
Looks like there's more bad news for Kanye "Ye" West. After recently being dropped by collaborators Balenciaga and GAP, another big brand has now decided to cut ties with Ye. In case you missed it, Balenciaga, whose creative director, Demna Gvasalia, has been friends with Ye for years, officially parted ways with the rapper on October 21. "Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist," the brand's parent company Kering said in a statement to WWD. The decision came after Ye made disparaging comments aimed at the Jewish community. "I'm going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," the rapper-turned-entrepreneur wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via TMZ).
"The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also," Ye continued. Despite this bizarre reasoning, brands and celebrities alike stood up against his antisemitic rhetoric, including his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. "Hate speech is never OK or excusable," Kardashian wrote on her Instagram Story (via The Neighborhood Talk). "I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards the to come to an immediate end," she continued. Others celebrities have also spoken out against Ye's antisemitic comments, including former collaborator John Legend and actor Reese Witherspoon.
And now, one of Ye's most lucrative partnerships ever has also come to an end.
Adidas has officially ended its partnership with Kanye West
After days of pressure, Adidas has now officially ended its years-long partnership with Kanye "Ye" West's YEEZY label following the rapper's recent antisemitic comments.
"Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the German sportswear brand said in a statement (via CNBC). "Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness." The brand also explained that the partnership will end "immediately," along with production of all YEEZY-branded products and payments to Ye and his companies." For Adidas, this could result in a net income loss of 250 million euros (or $246 million) in the last quarter of 2022.
Adidas' announcement comes after fans and employees alike called for the brand to end their longtime collaboration with the controversial rapper. Almost 200,000 fans signed an online petition asking for Adidas to drop Ye, while director of trade marketing Sarah Camhi said she could "no longer stay silent on behalf of the brand that employs me," in a recent LinkedIn post. While many saw this coming, Adidas' recent move might have caught Ye by surprise. "I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can't drop me," he said in a now-deleted "Drink Champs" interview (via Twitter).
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