Adidas Ends Partnership With Kanye West at a Considerable Cost
The German sportswear giant is the latest company to cut ties with the rapper and designer after his recent antisemitic outbursts and other provocations. Ending the long-running partnership is expected to put a big dent in profit at Adidas.
On Monday, the studio MRC said it was shelving a documentary on him.
Though Adidas was among the first of Yeezy’s corporate partners to announce publicly — on Oct. 6 — that it had placed the relationship under “review,” the fact that the company did not move faster to officially sever the ties began to take a toll. The Anti-Defamation League shot back, “What more do you need to review?”
Like many of Ye’s other fashion connections, Adidas seemed to be dragging its feet, perhaps hoping for a public apology that could turn things around. Unlike Ye’s other fashion relationships, which were largely unofficial and based on mutually advantageous appearances, untangling the deal between Yeezy and Adidas would have major contractual and long-term implications; the two brands were intertwined not just publicly, but financially and logistically as well.
The league stepped up its pressure on Adidas this week, after members of a hate group hung a banner reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” over a Los Angeles freeway.
In Germany, the Central Council of Jews called on the Bavarian-based sportswear giant to cut its ties to Ye. “The historical responsibility of Adidas lays not only in the German roots of the company, but also in its entanglement with the Nazi regime,” Josef Schuster, the head of the council, said. “I simply expect such a company to take a strict position regarding antisemitism.”
The founder of Adidas, Adi Dassler, belonged to the Nazi Party, and his factory was forced to produce munitions in the final years of the war. It was only thanks to the sworn statement of a Jewish friend that he was allowed to found the present-day company after World War II ended. Antisemitic statements made online can lead to prosecution in Germany and companies with ties to the Nazi era are expected to act to prevent the return of such sentiment.
As pressure on the company mounted in the United States in recent days, its leadership remained largely silent, frustrating even its own executives. “Coming off of the Adidas global week of inclusion, I am feeling anything but included,” Sarah Camhi, a director for trade marketing at Adidas in the United States, wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Monday.
She pointed out that while Adidas had severed ties with athletes who failed drug tests, or were “difficult to work with,” it was “unwilling to denounce hate speech, the perpetuation of dangerous stereotypes and blatant racism by one of our top brand partners,” she wrote.
“As a member of the Jewish community, I can no longer stay silent on behalf of the brand that employs me,” Ms. Camhi wrote. “Not saying anything, is saying everything.”
Shares of Adidas traded down more than 7 percent — their lowest point since 2016 — after the announcement on Tuesday. The company’s stock has fallen over 20 percent in the past month, as Ye embarked on his latest bout of outrageous behavior.
Adidas, which began collaborating with Ye after he left Nike, has long weathered public barbs from the rapper. Its partnership with Yeezy, Ye’s company, which encompasses sneakers and clothing, is estimated to be worth billions, making it among the largest sources of Ye’s wealth.
For Adidas, working with Ye gave the company a boost of creative cool and credibility that helped attract high-fashion collaborators like Gucci and Balenciaga.
The company said it expected the move to have a “short-term negative impact of up to €250 million” on its profit this year. Adidas makes the uniforms for the German, Spanish and Argentine soccer teams that will be playing in this year’s World Cup championship to be held this year in November and December.
Ted Deutch, the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, said he welcomed “this decisive if belated action by Adidas.”
“He believed that as long as the money kept rolling in he could speak with impunity,” Mr. Deutch said of Ye. “Other companies that profit from associating with West must also disabuse him of that notion.”
The end of Ye’s partnership with Adidas also comes as his most recent musical ventures have fallen short of previous efforts. His last album, for instance, did not come out on streaming services, but a proprietary $200 speaker device. Longtime fans have criticized his increasing dalliances with right-wing figures, including more frequent associations with Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson and an agreement to buy the right-leaning social network Parler.
Ye has stated that he plans to open his own retail stores, as part of his rejection of the corporate world and creation of what he has reportedly called the “Yecosystem.”
But the future of the Yeezy brand is unclear. Ye still owns the Yeezy trademark. However, Adidas said in its statement that it was the “sole owner” of all design rights to existing products that came out of the partnership, as well as previous and new colorways arising from the collaboration.
What the sneakerheads who made the last release of Adidas Yeezy shoes, on Oct. 17, a sell-out product, will do next is now the question.
Vanessa Friedman was named the fashion director and chief fashion critic in March 2014. In this role she leads global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and International New York Times. @VVFriedman
Michael de la Merced joined The Times as a reporter in 2006, covering Wall Street and finance. Among his main coverage areas are mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and the private equity industry. @m_delamerced • Facebook
Melissa Eddy is a correspondent based in Berlin who covers German politics, social issues and culture. She came to Germany as a Fulbright scholar in 1996, and previously worked for The Associated Press in Frankfurt, Vienna and the Balkans. @meddynyt • Facebook
The German sportswear giant is the latest company to cut ties with the rapper and designer after his recent antisemitic outbursts and other provocations. Ending the long-running partnership is expected to put a big dent in profit at Adidas.
Kanye West, now known as Ye, in Hollywood in 2016 at an event promoting his partnership with Adidas.
Credit...Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images North America
By Vanessa Friedman, Michael J. de la Merced and Melissa Eddy
Oct. 25, 2022Updated 11:22 a.m. ET
Adidas said on Tuesday that it was cutting ties with Kanye West, ending what may have been the most significant corporate fashion partnership of the rapper and designer’s career after he made a series of antisemitic remarks and embraced a slogan associated with white supremacists that earned him widespread condemnation.
The company, which had faced increasing calls in recent days to terminate its relationship with Ye, as Mr. West is now known, said the move would cost it 250 million euros ($246 million) this year.
The end of their nearly decade-long partnership — which was seen as enormously lucrative for both Ye and Adidas — raised questions of what would come next for Ye, who has been one of the most influential pop stars of recent decades but has become increasingly polarizing and unreliable in recent years. CAA, Ye’s former talent agency, no longer represents him and Def Jam, his longtime record company, said that his contract had expired last year.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
The company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, said it would terminate the partnership immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop payments to Ye and his companies.
Over the past month, Mr. West tested the boundaries of acceptable behavior even for a noted provocateur like himself. At his YZYSZN9 Paris Fashion Week show, he wore a shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter,” which the Anti-Defamation League has identified as hate speech and has been adopted by the white supremacist movement. He made antisemitic remarks on social media and in interviews shortly after, including a post on Twitter that said he would go “death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Blowback quickly followed.
Instagram and Twitter suspended Ye’s accounts. Ari Emanuel of Endeavor, the parent company of the talent agency WME, called on entertainment companies to stop working with Ye. Balenciaga, the fashion house that had partnered with Ye in his Yeezy Gap project (which came to an end in September) and opened its runway show in Paris this month with a modeling stint by Ye, deleted him from its pictures and videos of the show. Similar images disappeared from Vogue Runway, the platform of record for fashion shows, and the magazine stated it “had no intention” of working with Ye in the future. Vogue magazine said it would no longer work with Ye, who had appeared on its cover with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and often attended the Met Gala.
By Vanessa Friedman, Michael J. de la Merced and Melissa Eddy
Oct. 25, 2022Updated 11:22 a.m. ET
Adidas said on Tuesday that it was cutting ties with Kanye West, ending what may have been the most significant corporate fashion partnership of the rapper and designer’s career after he made a series of antisemitic remarks and embraced a slogan associated with white supremacists that earned him widespread condemnation.
The company, which had faced increasing calls in recent days to terminate its relationship with Ye, as Mr. West is now known, said the move would cost it 250 million euros ($246 million) this year.
The end of their nearly decade-long partnership — which was seen as enormously lucrative for both Ye and Adidas — raised questions of what would come next for Ye, who has been one of the most influential pop stars of recent decades but has become increasingly polarizing and unreliable in recent years. CAA, Ye’s former talent agency, no longer represents him and Def Jam, his longtime record company, said that his contract had expired last year.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
The company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, said it would terminate the partnership immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop payments to Ye and his companies.
Over the past month, Mr. West tested the boundaries of acceptable behavior even for a noted provocateur like himself. At his YZYSZN9 Paris Fashion Week show, he wore a shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter,” which the Anti-Defamation League has identified as hate speech and has been adopted by the white supremacist movement. He made antisemitic remarks on social media and in interviews shortly after, including a post on Twitter that said he would go “death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Blowback quickly followed.
Instagram and Twitter suspended Ye’s accounts. Ari Emanuel of Endeavor, the parent company of the talent agency WME, called on entertainment companies to stop working with Ye. Balenciaga, the fashion house that had partnered with Ye in his Yeezy Gap project (which came to an end in September) and opened its runway show in Paris this month with a modeling stint by Ye, deleted him from its pictures and videos of the show. Similar images disappeared from Vogue Runway, the platform of record for fashion shows, and the magazine stated it “had no intention” of working with Ye in the future. Vogue magazine said it would no longer work with Ye, who had appeared on its cover with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and often attended the Met Gala.
More on Kanye West
Kanye West, the rapper and fashion designer who now goes by Ye, has been at the center of several controversies because of his divisive commentary and antisemitic screeds.Runway Scandal: Ye wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt during a Paris fashion show. The use of the phrase, which the Anti-Defamation League has attributed to white supremacists, was widely condemned.
Corporate Partners: A series of antisemitic outbursts by the artist have raised questions about how much offensive behavior companies are willing to tolerate from a proven moneymaker.
Parler Deal: Parler, the social media service known for its right-wing audience, said that Ye would purchase its site, days after Instagram and Twitter restricted the rapper’s accounts.
Running Out of Platforms: The act of grabbing public attention has been a centerpiece of Ye’s art for two decades. Our pop music critic wonders if audiences will still tune in if his only outlets are on the fringes.
On Monday, the studio MRC said it was shelving a documentary on him.
Though Adidas was among the first of Yeezy’s corporate partners to announce publicly — on Oct. 6 — that it had placed the relationship under “review,” the fact that the company did not move faster to officially sever the ties began to take a toll. The Anti-Defamation League shot back, “What more do you need to review?”
Like many of Ye’s other fashion connections, Adidas seemed to be dragging its feet, perhaps hoping for a public apology that could turn things around. Unlike Ye’s other fashion relationships, which were largely unofficial and based on mutually advantageous appearances, untangling the deal between Yeezy and Adidas would have major contractual and long-term implications; the two brands were intertwined not just publicly, but financially and logistically as well.
The league stepped up its pressure on Adidas this week, after members of a hate group hung a banner reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” over a Los Angeles freeway.
In Germany, the Central Council of Jews called on the Bavarian-based sportswear giant to cut its ties to Ye. “The historical responsibility of Adidas lays not only in the German roots of the company, but also in its entanglement with the Nazi regime,” Josef Schuster, the head of the council, said. “I simply expect such a company to take a strict position regarding antisemitism.”
The founder of Adidas, Adi Dassler, belonged to the Nazi Party, and his factory was forced to produce munitions in the final years of the war. It was only thanks to the sworn statement of a Jewish friend that he was allowed to found the present-day company after World War II ended. Antisemitic statements made online can lead to prosecution in Germany and companies with ties to the Nazi era are expected to act to prevent the return of such sentiment.
As pressure on the company mounted in the United States in recent days, its leadership remained largely silent, frustrating even its own executives. “Coming off of the Adidas global week of inclusion, I am feeling anything but included,” Sarah Camhi, a director for trade marketing at Adidas in the United States, wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Monday.
She pointed out that while Adidas had severed ties with athletes who failed drug tests, or were “difficult to work with,” it was “unwilling to denounce hate speech, the perpetuation of dangerous stereotypes and blatant racism by one of our top brand partners,” she wrote.
“As a member of the Jewish community, I can no longer stay silent on behalf of the brand that employs me,” Ms. Camhi wrote. “Not saying anything, is saying everything.”
Shares of Adidas traded down more than 7 percent — their lowest point since 2016 — after the announcement on Tuesday. The company’s stock has fallen over 20 percent in the past month, as Ye embarked on his latest bout of outrageous behavior.
Adidas, which began collaborating with Ye after he left Nike, has long weathered public barbs from the rapper. Its partnership with Yeezy, Ye’s company, which encompasses sneakers and clothing, is estimated to be worth billions, making it among the largest sources of Ye’s wealth.
For Adidas, working with Ye gave the company a boost of creative cool and credibility that helped attract high-fashion collaborators like Gucci and Balenciaga.
The company said it expected the move to have a “short-term negative impact of up to €250 million” on its profit this year. Adidas makes the uniforms for the German, Spanish and Argentine soccer teams that will be playing in this year’s World Cup championship to be held this year in November and December.
Ted Deutch, the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, said he welcomed “this decisive if belated action by Adidas.”
“He believed that as long as the money kept rolling in he could speak with impunity,” Mr. Deutch said of Ye. “Other companies that profit from associating with West must also disabuse him of that notion.”
The end of Ye’s partnership with Adidas also comes as his most recent musical ventures have fallen short of previous efforts. His last album, for instance, did not come out on streaming services, but a proprietary $200 speaker device. Longtime fans have criticized his increasing dalliances with right-wing figures, including more frequent associations with Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson and an agreement to buy the right-leaning social network Parler.
Ye has stated that he plans to open his own retail stores, as part of his rejection of the corporate world and creation of what he has reportedly called the “Yecosystem.”
But the future of the Yeezy brand is unclear. Ye still owns the Yeezy trademark. However, Adidas said in its statement that it was the “sole owner” of all design rights to existing products that came out of the partnership, as well as previous and new colorways arising from the collaboration.
What the sneakerheads who made the last release of Adidas Yeezy shoes, on Oct. 17, a sell-out product, will do next is now the question.
Kanye West’s Unraveling Partnerships
Vanessa Friedman was named the fashion director and chief fashion critic in March 2014. In this role she leads global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and International New York Times. @VVFriedman
Michael de la Merced joined The Times as a reporter in 2006, covering Wall Street and finance. Among his main coverage areas are mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and the private equity industry. @m_delamerced • Facebook
Melissa Eddy is a correspondent based in Berlin who covers German politics, social issues and culture. She came to Germany as a Fulbright scholar in 1996, and previously worked for The Associated Press in Frankfurt, Vienna and the Balkans. @meddynyt • Facebook
Adidas under pressure over Kanye West after anti-Jewish outbursts
Kanye West is becoming increasingly isolated by the brands and businesses that have made him wealthy, but Adidas has so far refused to sever ties
Issued on: 25/10/2022 -
Los Angeles (AFP) – Sportswear giant Adidas was under growing pressure Monday to sever ties with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial rapper.
Human rights campaigners called out the German firm for its continued silence over comments by West -- known formally as Ye -- that have made him more and more isolated from the businesses and brands that have made him fabulously wealthy.
"Thousands of signatures, and still no word, @adidas ? Your silence is a danger to Jews," tweeted Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
"We can't let Ye's #antisemitism become normalized - we all need to demand Adidas #RunAwayFromHate by condemning his racist rhetoric & re-evaluating their partnership."
The company said this month it was reviewing its relationship with West after he appeared at a fashion show in Paris wearing a shirt with the slogan "White Lives Matter."
The phrase is a dog whistle to right-wing groups in the United States and a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Days later he was locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to "Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE."
Over the weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read "Kanye is right about the Jews" and "Honk if you know."
Several activists were photographed making "Heil Hitler" salutes.
On Monday, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, CAA, said it was dropping West.
Film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about West.
"We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform," the company said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Other leading figures in entertainment, including Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel called on all companies to cut ties with West.
"Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience," Emanuel wrote in the Financial Times. "There should be no tolerance anywhere for West’s anti-Semitism."
Last week Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga ended ties with West, saying it "no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist."
West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian appeared to be joining the pile-on, though her tweet did not mention the father of her children by name.
"Hate speech is never OK or excusable," she wrote on Twitter and Instagram on Monday.
"I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."
Illness
Adidas did not immediately reply Monday to queries from AFP.
The company, whose founders had ties to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, announced several weeks ago that it was reviewing its relationship with West after he reportedly became disgruntled with how the brand was marketing his products.
"After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review," Adidas said in a statement in early October.
West had accused Adidas of arranging marketing events and bringing back older styles without his approval.
He also said the brand had hired staff to work under him and organized a "Yeezy Day" without his involvement.
The artist was associated with Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first Yeezy shoe together in 2015 -- a partnership that went on to make him a billionaire.
Along with Beyonce, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, West's has been one of the top names used by Adidas to boost sales, especially online.
Announcing the review, Adidas did not mention recent tensions, but said its partnership with the rapper had been "one of the most successful collaborations in our industry's history" and was "rooted in mutual respect and shared values."
West, who half-heartedly ran for president of the United States in 2020, has spoken openly about his struggles with mental illness, but his erratic behavior has continued to raise concerns.
© 2022 AFP
Kanye West is becoming increasingly isolated by the brands and businesses that have made him wealthy, but Adidas has so far refused to sever ties
Issued on: 25/10/2022 -
Los Angeles (AFP) – Sportswear giant Adidas was under growing pressure Monday to sever ties with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial rapper.
Human rights campaigners called out the German firm for its continued silence over comments by West -- known formally as Ye -- that have made him more and more isolated from the businesses and brands that have made him fabulously wealthy.
"Thousands of signatures, and still no word, @adidas ? Your silence is a danger to Jews," tweeted Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
"We can't let Ye's #antisemitism become normalized - we all need to demand Adidas #RunAwayFromHate by condemning his racist rhetoric & re-evaluating their partnership."
The company said this month it was reviewing its relationship with West after he appeared at a fashion show in Paris wearing a shirt with the slogan "White Lives Matter."
The phrase is a dog whistle to right-wing groups in the United States and a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Days later he was locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to "Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE."
Over the weekend a banner was hoisted over a busy Los Angeles freeway that read "Kanye is right about the Jews" and "Honk if you know."
Several activists were photographed making "Heil Hitler" salutes.
On Monday, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, CAA, said it was dropping West.
Film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about West.
"We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform," the company said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Other leading figures in entertainment, including Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel called on all companies to cut ties with West.
"Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience," Emanuel wrote in the Financial Times. "There should be no tolerance anywhere for West’s anti-Semitism."
Last week Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga ended ties with West, saying it "no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist."
West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian appeared to be joining the pile-on, though her tweet did not mention the father of her children by name.
"Hate speech is never OK or excusable," she wrote on Twitter and Instagram on Monday.
"I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."
Illness
Adidas did not immediately reply Monday to queries from AFP.
The company, whose founders had ties to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, announced several weeks ago that it was reviewing its relationship with West after he reportedly became disgruntled with how the brand was marketing his products.
"After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review," Adidas said in a statement in early October.
West had accused Adidas of arranging marketing events and bringing back older styles without his approval.
He also said the brand had hired staff to work under him and organized a "Yeezy Day" without his involvement.
The artist was associated with Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first Yeezy shoe together in 2015 -- a partnership that went on to make him a billionaire.
Along with Beyonce, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, West's has been one of the top names used by Adidas to boost sales, especially online.
Announcing the review, Adidas did not mention recent tensions, but said its partnership with the rapper had been "one of the most successful collaborations in our industry's history" and was "rooted in mutual respect and shared values."
West, who half-heartedly ran for president of the United States in 2020, has spoken openly about his struggles with mental illness, but his erratic behavior has continued to raise concerns.
© 2022 AFP
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