Adidas on Tuesday said it has “immediately” terminated its relationship with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and will cease production of Yeezy-branded products.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a press release. “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.”
There has been growing pressure on major brands to cut ties with the rapper after he made antisemitic remarks on Twitter a few weeks ago.
The rapper later followed with more offensive comments against the Jewish community on Revolt TV’s Drink Champs in a since-deleted interview.
Ye’s comments against the Jewish community were also referenced over the weekend by a group of Los Angeles neo-Nazis who hung antisemitic flyers on a 405 freeway overpass, one of which declared “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
In addition to Ye’s remarks against the Jewish community, another recent controversy saw the Donda rapper sporting a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt during his surprise Yeezy Season 9 show in Paris, along with conservative political commentator Candace Owens.
Responding to the backlash over the T-shirts, Ye wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post, “Here’s my latest response when people ask me why I made a tee that says white lives matter… THEY DO.” The “White Lives Matter” slogan has been adopted by white supremacists as a counter to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency announced Monday that it would no longer represent the rapper. Film and television studio MRC also said it would shelve a documentary on West, saying in a statement, in part, that it “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”
Several reports have also stated that brands such as Balenciaga will no longer work with Ye.
Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian, as well as Reese Witherspoon, Amy Schumer, John Legend and others have also spoken out against Ye’s comments aimed at the Jewish community.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.