Adidas confirms it is terminating its Kanye West partnership with immediate effect

26.10.2022 - 14:43 / completemusicupdate.com

As expected, Adidas yesterday formally cut its ties with Kanye West, announcing it was ending production of all the Yeezy branded products it has made via its partnership with the rapper.West’s relationships with some of his business partners in the fashion domain were already deteriorating before his recent spate of controversial and anti-semitic statements.Adidas, which has been working with West since 2013 – with the first trainers under the Adidas Yeezy brand being launched in 2015 – announced it was reviewing its long-standing partnership with the rapper earlier this month.The sportswear firm’s current deal with West was reportedly due to run through to 2026, but yesterday it confirmed it was terminating the partnership with immediate effect. This follows West’s recent claim in a controversial Drink Champs interview that “I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me”.“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech”, the company said in a statement.

“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”.“After a thorough review”, it went on, “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”.The Adidas Yeezy venture was very profitable for both the sportswear brand and the rapper, and as a result the decision to abruptly end the partnership will have a sizeable impact on Adidas, in the short term at least.Its statement concluded yesterday: “This [decision] is expected to have a