Kate Hackett
Adidas announced on Tuesday that it would be severing its relationship with Kanye West after West made antisemitic comments.
The sportswear brand issued a statement:
“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.
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 now joins Balenciaga and talent agency CAA in the companies who have broken their relationships with West.
On Monday, Studio MCR announced that it would not air a completed documentary about West. Execs explained that they “cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.”
On Friday, the first public company to remove itself from West’s orbit was Balenciaga. They announced that they have “no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”
On Monday, the New York Times reported that West’s record label, G.O.O.D Music, is no longer linked with Def Jam.
Reports also say that Untied Talent Agency (UTA) co-founder Jeremy Zimmer issued a staff memo on Sunday to “please support the boycott of Kanye West.”
Additionally, his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, shared on Monday that “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”
Kim’s sister, Khloe, also seemed to address the antisemitic comments by reposting an Instagram post from Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica.
“I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people,” the post reads. The statement came with blue heart emojis.
The comments also saw West suspended from Twitter and Instagram.
West’s controversies don’t end there; Kanye wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at Paris Fashion Week. The term is categorized as a hate slogan by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center says it is “a racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter.”
Over the weekend, Los Angeles saw banners put up over a 405 Freeway overpass that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews”, referencing his slurs.
