Adidas officially has ended its partnership with Kanye West after he made numerous anti-Semitic comments.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the athletic 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.”
Jonathan Leibson (Credit: Jonathan Leibson)
Adidas announced its partnership with the Yeezy fashion designer was “under review” in early October after West, 45, wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to a fashion show — and then continued to wear it.
“After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review,” Adidas shared in a statement at the time. “We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period.”
The company’s decision comes after celebrities, including West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian, condemned West for his remarks.
West didn’t take to the company’s decision kindly, responding on Instagram, “F—K ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.”
The rapper’s relationship with both Adidas and the rest of the fashion world worsened after he vowed to go “death con 3” on Jewish people. He was immediately banned from both Twitter and Instagram.
He later bashed “Jewish media” for silencing him online after he posted a screenshot of his text messages with Diddy in which the rapper wrote, “This ain’t a game. Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
Despite Adidas, Balenciaga and Vogue severing their relationships with West, the “Flashing Lights” rapper maintains he’ll never be cancelled.
“I ain’t losing no money,” he told TMZ, shrugging. “The day I was taken off the Balenciaga site, that was one of the most freeing days.”
He added, “We here, baby, we ain’t going nowhere.”
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