Adidas ends its collaboration with Kanye West

Adidas ends its collaboration with Kanye West, Adidas has “immediately” severed its collaboration with Ye, popularly known as Kanye West.

The sportswear manufacturer stated in a statement on Tuesday that it “does not allow antisemitism and any other type of hate speech,” and that his most recent remarks were “unacceptable, vile, and deadly.” The company’s “values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness” were broken, according to Adidas.

Payments to Ye and his businesses have also ceased, along with sales and production of his Yeezy-branded goods. Adidas estimated that its fourth-quarter sales will suffer a €250 million ($246 million) impact.

Since 2013, when the business signed its brand away from rival Nike, Adidas has collaborated with West. Adidas increased its agreement with the rapper in 2016 and referred to it as “the most significant alliance ever forged between a non-athlete and an athletic brand.”

Adidas, however, put the “relationship under review” at the beginning of October after he appeared in public wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt. The statement is referred to as a “hate slogan” by organizations that support White supremacy, such as the Klu Klux Klan, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Ye recently made anti-Semitic remarks on the Drink Champs Podcast, adding, “I can say antisemitic s*** and Adidas cannot drop me.” He also vowed to “go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” on Twitter.

Companies sever ties

The number of companies separating themselves from the West is expanding. West’s representation by the talent agency CAA was terminated on Monday. Balenciaga and Vogue openly severed their relations last week. A documentary on West has been shelved, according to production company MRC.

Also on Tuesday, Gap declared that Yeezy Gap products would no longer be sold in its shops and that YeezyGap.com had been shut down.

“Recent comments and actions by our ex-partner serve to further explain why. We are moving quickly to get rid of Yeezy Gap merchandise, the retailer declared in a statement.

The Ye story “underlines the need of vetting celebrities extensively and avoiding those who are extremely contentious or unstable,” wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData in a note on Tuesday. This is true not just of Adidas but of companies like Gap and Balenciaga as well.

“While there is place for some friction in the fashion world, it must never go too far and be disrespectful of human dignity. Companies or brands that ignore this risk being hurt, especially if they rely too heavily on a tough personality to run their operations, he continued.