Adidas ends ties with Kanye West over antisemitism
October 25, 2022
The German sportswear giant is the latest company to end connections with the controversial celebrity. Jewish groups and rights advocates had demanded Adidas "take a clear stance" against antisemitism.
Adidas has remained tight-lipped over its relationship with Kanye WestImage: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for ADIDAS
The celebrity — known formally as Ye — recently made a slew of antisemitic remarks, triggering widespread outrage and resulting in his accounts on Twitter and Instagram being restricted.
The company said in a statement that it "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."
Adidas had faced growing calls from Jewish and rights groups to end its association with West.
Earlier this month, the company said it was reviewing its relationship with West after he appeared wearing a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt at a fashion show in Paris.
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What did Jewish groups say?
The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has called on Bavaria-based Adidas to "immediately stop its cooperation with Kanye West," he told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Monday.
"The rapper's daily antisemitic comments are unbearable for Jews in Germany and around the world," Schuster said. "As a German company, I simply expect Adidas to take a clear stance when it comes to antisemitism. Corporate interests must not take precedence here."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted that the company's silence "is a danger to Jews."
"We can't let Ye's antisemitism become normalized — we all need to demand Adidas Run Away From Hate by condemning his racist rhetoric and re-evaluating their partnership."
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at breaking point? 'Kimye's' highs and lows
As one of entertainment's most prominent couples seek marriage counselling amidst swirling rumors of an imminent divorce, we revisit the celebrity duo's marital struggles — and political differences.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Is the fairytale over?
Seven years after exchanging vows in an an extravagant ceremony in Florence, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (dubbed "Kimye" by the media) are reportedly seeking counselling as unnamed sources hint at divorce. "People" reports that West, 43, is bracing for a filing. "He's okay. He's sad, but okay. He knows the inevitable will happen, and he knows that it's coming soon," said a source.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A political divide
While both share an affinity for plugging social media to enhance their personal brands, they have polar opposite politics. Kardashian endorsed Hilary Clinton in the 2016 elections and publicly celebrated Joe Biden’s win last year. West is an avowed supporter of President Donald Trump. Regularly seen in a MAGA hat, he once asserted that he and Trump were "brothers" who shared "dragon energy."
Image: twitter/Kim Kardashian
Slavery comments drive a wedge
Kardashian "screamed and cried" when West in 2018 suggested that the enslavement of African Americans might have been a "choice." He even wrote about their argument in the track "Wouldn’t Leave" from his 2018 album "Ye." Kardashian later spoke about the slavery comments, saying that she and West "have different views sometimes, but that's my husband, you know?"
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Dealing with bipolar disorder
After years of speculation, the mercurial West appeared to confirm that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018. His album cover "Ye" bore the phrase "I Hate Being Bipolar. It's Awesome." In the wake of his controversial rants, Kardashian and her family made an impassioned plea to fans last year for "compassion and empathy ... so that we can get through this."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP/The Post And Courier/L.P. Ipetracca/
Meeting the enemy
Kardashian is studying law and has been a vocal campaigner for prison reform. She experienced some political solidarity with her husband when West suggested his liberal wife meet with President Trump in 2018 to lobby for the release of Alice Marie Johnson, then serving a life sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense. Trump commuted Johnson's sentence a week after their meeting.
Image: picturealliance/AP Photo/E. Agostini
In sickness and in health
Last October, Kardashian revealed that she had cared for West after he'd contracted COVID-19 when the pandemic first struck. Speaking to "Grazia" USA, she described how she had to change his sheets with gloves and a face shield on, describing how it "was really a scary time" as she also had to care for the couple's four children aged between 7 and 19 months.
Image: Reuters/L. Jackson
"I almost killed my daughter"
West angered Kardashian with his revelations, stated during his 2020 US presidential campaign launch, that his father had wanted to abort him but his mother had "saved my life." During the South Carolina rally (pictured), he also revealed that he and Kim had considered aborting one of their children. "I almost killed my daughter," he said, adding that he wouldn't ban but would discourage abortion.
Image: picture alliance/AP/The Post And Courier/L.P. Ipetracca
Divorce on the cards?
With reports that "Kimye" (pictured in Paris en route to their marathon wedding celebration in 2014) are now living apart, speculation is growing that West will be divorced for the first time, and Kardashian the third. Celebrity divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, will reportedly represent Kardashian again after handling her divorce from basketball player Kris Humphries, following a 72-day marriage.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Tribouillard
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Controversy and conspiracy theories
On Monday, a studio decided to shelve a completed documentary about the rapper. "We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,'' the executives of the MRC studio said in a memo.
It comes after Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga had ended ties with him last week.
West had also broken off his partnership with fashion retailer Gap last month.
His lawyer said in a statement that West was left with "no choice but to terminate their collaboration" because, he alleges, Gap breached their partnership by not opening branded Yeezy stores and distributing his apparel as originally planned, among other issues.
The artist has happily courted controversy and promoted conspiracy theories, having previously called slavery a choice and said that the COVID-19 vaccine was "the mark of the beast."
The rapper-turned-mogul has been open about having a bipolar disorder. A recent Netflix documentary, "Jeen-Yuhs," laid bare his ongoing mental health problems.
