Adidas drops Kanye West over antisemitic comments

Adidas has spilt ways with entertainer Ye, otherwise known as Kanye West.

The German sportswear company announced that it has dropped Ye after the rapper’s recent antisemitic remarks, The Associated Press reported.

The move comes weeks after Adidas called the partnership “one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history,” Bloomberg reported.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”

Bloomberg reached out to Ye, who has not commented as of Tuesday morning.

Adidas will end the partnership, stop creating Yeezy-brand items and stop paying Ye and his companies, Bloomberg reported. The sportswear company says it owns the design rights to the products.

The Yeezy line was about 8% of Adidas’ total sales, according to Bloomberg.

Adidas said it had held a “thorough review” after Ye’s remarks had celebrities and others pushing the company to respond to his remarks. Earlier this month Adidas said it was reviewing its sneaker deal with Ye.

The decision will impact Adidas’ bottom line, with the company saying it could lose $246 million from dropping the partnership.

This isn’t the first company to break ties with Ye. His talent agency, CAA, dropped him and a documentary on Ye’s life produced by MRC has been shelved.

Ye has also lost deals with Balenciaga and JPMorganChase. He has ended his partnership with Gap, telling Bloomberg that he is dropping corporate suppliers.

“It’s time for me to go it alone,” Ye said in a phone interview with Bloomberg last month. “It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever. Like the round jacket, the foam runner, the slides that have changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”

Ye has also been suspended from Twitter and Instagram over his antisemitic posts that the companies said violated their policies, the AP reported.

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