“I can say anti-Semitic s*** and Adidas will not let me down” This was the phrase that Kanye West recently said against the Jews in the podcast Drink Champs. And it was the phrase that earned him the termination of his contract with Adidas.
But this was not the only thing that caused the end of his contract with the well-known German sports brand. At the beginning of October, when the rapper wore a T-shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” in public at a fashion show in France, Adidas put the “association under review”, because for the Anti-Defamation League this phrase is considered a “hate slogan” used by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, according to information from CNN in Spanish.
Finally, in a statement last Tuesday, Adidas announced the conclusion of the contract with West and ruled on his actions, reporting that the rapper did not respect the “values of non-diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness” of the company and that “does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other type of hate speech.” He further added that the rapper’s recent comments are “unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous.”
Weeks ago, human rights activists had spoken out about the brand’s silence in the face of West’s comments.
Brands GAP, Balenciaga and Vogue, as well as talent agency CAA also announced the end of their contracts with Kanye West last week, so Adidas wasn’t the only brand to cut ties with him. In addition, on October 24, the television and film production company MRC said that it will no longer publish a finished documentary about the rapper. As if that were not enough, in recent days the JP Morgan Chase bank canceled West’s account due to his anti-Semitic comments.
The commercial link between Adidas and West, which has now come to an end, began in 2013. In 2016, Adidas extended its relationship with the rapper and for the company it was “the most important association ever created between an athletic brand and a person who does not he’s an athlete.”
How much did Adidas lose and will lose by the end of its contract with West?
In the next earnings report on November 9, Adidas will share more information about how much the dissolution of his contract with West will cost him.
For now, Adidas stopped sales and production of the Yeezy line. Of course, he also stopped paying the rapper and his companies. From the outset, this will cost the brand a drop of 250 million euros in its sales for the last quarter of 2022.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.