Adidas has cut ties with Kanye West.
Kanye released his first pair of 'Air Yeezy' sneakers with the shoe brand in 2013 but now the company has decided to stop working with him in light of his recent comments.
ICYMI, the rapper caused some pretty heavy controversy when he posted anti-Semitic messages on social media. Prior to that, he wore a 'White Lives Matter t-shirt during Paris Fashion Week earlier this month with Gigi Hadid labelling him a "joke and a bully".
If you love messy Kardashian moments, check out the Talking Out The Trash podcast reacting to the news of Khloe and Tristan's second baby here:
In a statement, Adidas said: "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.
This is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million (NZD $433.5 million) on the company’s net income in 2022..
But, it seems Kanye will be the one worse off with Forbes officially declaring that Ye has lost his billionaire status.
Forbes now claims Kaye is worth approx. $400 million, which is an insanely massive decrease from where he was a couple of years ago when his net worth was valued at roughly $1.3 billion - Ouch!
The news comes just hours after the 'Stronger' rapper - who was previously married to reality superstar Kim Kardashian and has North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and three-year-old Psalm with her - declared that he could say whatever he wanted about Jewish people and his contract with Adidas would be safe.
He tweeted; "I can say antisemitic s*** and Adidas cannot drop me."
In recent days, Kanye - who initially claimed he was going to "wake up going death con 3 on Jewish people", has faced a slew of brands refusing to work with him because of his comments, including the likes of Vogue magazine.
A Vogue spokesperson told Page Six "that neither the magazine nor does its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour intend to work with Kanye West again".
And an insider told the publication: "Anna has had enough. She has made it very clear inside Vogue that Kanye is no longer part of the inner circle.”
Balenciaga also ended its relationship with Kanye, who only recently opened Balenciaga’s summer 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week.
Parent company Kering told WWD: "Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist."
Creative director Demna Gvasalia is a close friend and collaborator of Kanye but his recent anti-Semitic rants are said to have led to the brand ruling out any future work with the rapper.
So is this the wake-up call that Kanye needs to get himself back on the right track? Or will he just take the 'L' and continue with his ways? This really could be the downfall of Kane West.
Bang Showbiz / The Edge
