While it took longer than anybody would have hoped, sportswear giant Adidas has officially cut ties with Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” after the rapper and fashion designer spewed antisemitic comments and boldly claimed that he could make the comments and “Adidas won’t drop me.”
The company announced on Monday morning that it was ending its partnership with Kanye West immediately and ending its production of Yeezy products as a result of the rapper’s latest controversy.
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect,” Adidas said according to the Jewish Chronicle. “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. 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.”
For the many who blasted Adidas for their continued silence on Ye’s hateful and antisemitic comments, the move was a long time coming. And the sports world reacted to it on Twitter following the news.
There it is. Adidas drops Kanye West.
— Chris Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) October 25, 2022
This is a pretty big deal. Kanye was to Adidas what Michael Jordan is to Nike.
Nike has stuck by its athletes through controversies on several occasions, but Kanye seems to be past the point of no return. https://t.co/LgYeaDdyYB
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) October 25, 2022
Adidas says in statement the decision will result in a net income loss of $246 million this year.
Net income (sales minus costs) is around 25% of retail, which puts the business lost from a consumer perspective at around $1 billion. https://t.co/g5sW1kQJv4
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 25, 2022
BREAKING: Adidas is terminating its partnership with Kanye West.
They say it will have a negative impact of up to ~$250 million on the company's net income in 2022. pic.twitter.com/Cih8VTjvB7
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 25, 2022
Too Little, Too Late https://t.co/ydtv4EJ95D
— Mark Clark (@marksword) October 25, 2022
Ball game https://t.co/BrCoEmwKwj
— James H. Williams covers UCLA football (@JHWreporter) October 25, 2022
While the decision may have come later than some would have liked, it still proves that Adidas will, in fact, drop Ye if he says antisemitic things.
