Adidas Ends Partnership With Kanye West

Kanye West (right) with Adidas CMO Eric Liedtke

The other shoe finally dropped for Kanye West.

Following weeks of inaction from Adidas in the face of his antisemitic remarks and other erratic behavior, including making its execs watch a porn video while he chided them for stealing his designs, the shoe company ended its relationship with the entrepreneur on Tuesday morning.

Sarah Camhi, director of Trade Marketing at Adidas, calls out her company’s silence over Kanye West’s recent comments: pic.twitter.com/JtTwi6zPxn

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 25, 2022

“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 said the decision came after a thorough review of its relationship with the fashion mogul that began in 2013 when it signed his Yeezy brand away from Nike.

I'm a little shocked that @adidas has still made no statement denouncing hate and anti-semitism, let alone firing @kanyewest 's ass. Adidas seems more than happy to accept being branding a hate supporting company. https://t.co/1mdVGbaJC3

— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) October 24, 2022

Heralded at the time by Adidas as "the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand," the dissolution of the deal will negatively impact its income by $246 million in the short term.

Adidas will terminate the production of Yeezy-branded products immediately and end all payments to West and his companies. The company — which West accused of stealing his designs in recent weeks — also claims sole ownership of all design rights to existing products and previous and new colorways under the partnership.

The move makes Adidas just the latest in a long list of partners who have dropped the billionaire in the wake of massive public pressure.

West talent agency CAA confirmed he was no longer a client on Monday. MRC Entertainment studios shelved a documentary about the rapper-turned-fashion mogul. Fashion house Balenciaga and JPMorgan Chase had cut ties with him the previous week.