Adidas has ended its relationship with Kanye West

Adidas has ended its relationship with Kanye Westwhich is now called Ye, after the rapper made a streak anti-Semitic statements in Fox News interviews and on social media. Pressure is mounting on the sportswear giant to cut ties with the Yeezy founder, whose inflammatory comments have been condemned by senior figures. October 21 Kering confirmed that Balenciaga, for whom Ye showed the spring/summer 2023 runway just three weeks ago, “no longer has any relationship or plans for future projects involving this artist.” Ye broke up with Gap in September.

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech,” reads a statement on the brand’s website. “Ye’s recent comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and violate the company’s values ​​of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.

The company is halting production of all Yeezy-branded products and immediately halting all payments to the rapper and his companies. As a result, Adidas estimates a “short-term negative impact of up to €250m (£217m) on the company’s net profit in 2022”.

On October 24, Kanye West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian convicted hate speech on Twitter calling for an end to the “horrific violence and hateful rhetoric” directed against the Jewish community. Her tweet made no mention of her ex-husband, whose increasingly erratic behavior has often made headlines in recent months.

This article first appeared on British Vogue.