Sixty thousand people asked the sports firm to dispense with the rapper’s image after his latest anti-Semitic and far-right comments. Adidas joins the long list of brands that cancel their commercial agreements with Kanye Westex-husband of Kim Kardashianafter the withdrawal of Balenciaga y Vogue last Friday and Gap this Monday for the same reason.
The German sports company had a multimillion-dollar agreement with the musician for the development of the line Yeezy since 2013. The rapper bragged about his power over them a few days ago: “I can say anti-Semitic things and Adidas can’t kick me out”. Fake. Adidas has announced this Tuesday that it will no longer market West’s brand in its stores or its online store. “We will not tolerate anti-Semitic or any other kind of hate speech”, has communicated the brand, which will lose revenue of 250 million dollars this year after making the decision. “His unacceptable, hateful and dangerous comments. West has violated the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
The tensions between Adidas and West date back to August, when Donald Trump’s friend insulted the firm and the possibility of canceling their agreement was put on the table: “Fuck you Adidas. I am Adidas. Adidas raped and stole my designs”, responded the artist on social networks. The Germans, for whom Yeezy represents sales of between one thousand and one thousand five hundred million a year, bite the bullet to remain linked to the star, but pressure from users and the withdrawal of other brands have left them without options.
West’s statements on the podcast Drink Camps they have not left anyone indifferent: “The Jews control the media and are the owners of the black vote in the United States, because famous African Americans have to have a Jewish manager, or they are on a Jewish basketball team, or they make a movie for a Jewish platform like Disney. It is not, of course, West’s first controversy: in September he stated that Bernard Arnaultthird richest man in the world, had murdered designer Virgil Abloh.