Rumors are circulating that Kanye West and Adidas could be restoring their business relationship. Adidas may lose around $1 Billion after severing ties with Kanye.
West, who changed his legal name to Ye last year, made headlines earlier this week for wearing a ““WHITE LIVES MATTER” shirt at his fashion show in Paris and for baselessly accusing the world’s second-wealthiest man, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, of causing the death of West’s “best friend,” an apparent reference to Louis Vuitton menswear director Virgil Abloh, who died of cancer last November. West shared in 2018 his bipolar disorder diagnosis. After West was under hot water for controversial statements he made during his failed 2020 presidential bid, his then-wife Kim Kardashian said West’s “words sometimes do not align with his intentions” and he “has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder.”
Industry experts have cited $1.2bn in unsold Yeezy stock burning a hole in Adidas’ pocket as the main reason for the rumoured return.
Adidas initially planned to sell the Yeezy products without any of the branding but had to fallback when consumers made it clear that interest in the Kanye-less products would be minimal.
In other Kanye related news, the BBC have confirmed it is producing a new documentary and podcast about the 24x Grammy winner, following the recent controversy surrounding the rapper.
Adidas has always been about creativity, innovation and supporting athletes and artists to achieve their vision. The adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history,” Adidas said.
“We also recognize that all successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values.”
News about Adidas putting the partnership under review comes less than a month after West’s lawyers sent a letter to Gap Inc notifying the apparel chain he was terminating his partnership with the company.
The artist was clearly enraged by the announcement and took to social media to vent.
“FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS,” he screamed in capital letters and with no head space to consider punctuation.
No doubt we’ll be hearing further developments over the coming days. Adidas announced that it had carried out a “thorough investigation” and will immediately halt both the production of its Yeezy product line and payments to Ye and his businesses. The sportswear company predicted that the decision might cost it up to 250 million euros ($246 million) in net profits this year.
Adidas’ action comes after Ye was banned from Twitter and Instagram this month for making anti-Semitic statements that the social media platforms claimed broke their regulations.
Adidas was under pressure to sever connections with Ye after social media users, including celebrities, called for it. At the beginning of the month, it declared that it was reevaluating its lucrative sneaker partnership with the rapper, “Yeezy.”
Ye recently said that slavery was a choice and referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as the “mark of the beast,” among other things. Additionally, he received criticism for showing up to his Yeezy collection exhibition in Paris wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt.
Ye has been dropped by his talent agency CAA, and the MRC studio said on Monday that it is shelving a full documentary about the rapper.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, designer brand Balenciaga severed its relationship with Ye last week. Ye and JPMorganChase have also dissolved their commercial partnership, however this split was always planned before Ye made his anti-Semitic remarks.
Kim Kardashian has also addressed the antisemitic remarks made by ex husband Kanye West.
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