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Adidas faces increasing pressure to cut relationship with Ye

By Rachel Douglass

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People

Image: Adidas, Kanye West

Sportswear giant Adidas is facing rapidly increasing pressure to cut its partnership with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

It comes amid a slew of controversial comments made by Ye, who has seen a growing number of his contracts and relationships dissolved in response.

Most notably, the artist came under fire for appearing at his Yeezy Szn 9 show at Paris Fashion Week sporting a t-shirt with ‘White Lives Matter’ printed on the back.

He also made false claims about the death of George Floyd and took to social media to state he was “going to go death con 3 on Jewish People”, among other anti-Semitic comments, resulting in both a Twitter and Instagram ban.

On October 7, Adidas announced its partnership with Ye, who has a 10-year deal with the brand, was “under review” after the performer publicly accused the company of copying his Yeezy footwear.

Almost a month after the announcement, calls for Adidas to cut ties with Ye have heightened, with observers on the internet questioning why the brand is taking so long.

The pressure further increased following Ye’s appearance on the ‘Drink Champs’ podcast earlier this month, where he stated: “I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. What now?”

Responding to Ye’s comments, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released an open letter in which it noted its concern around Adidas’ apparent hesitancy to drop the collaboration.

In the letter, the ADL further added that it was “alarmed” to see the brand was intending to release new Yeezy products and had not joined the growing list of brands, celebrities and companies denouncing the artist’s statements.

On Monday, talent firm Creative Artists Agency also announced it would be dropping Ye and said in a statement that it would be shelving a completed documentary on the rapper.

Adidas
Kanye West
Sportswear