Following a slew of antisemitic comments made by Ye, the German athletic apparel Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) said Tuesday that it would no longer be working with the rapper and fashion designer.
This month, Adidas reevaluated their partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand, which has resulted in multiple best-sellers.
The German sportswear manufacturer stated on Tuesday, “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech.”
A statement sent by the firm said, “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.”
According to Forbes, Ye’s fortune dropped by $200 million when the sale fell through. His portion of the Adidas relationship was estimated to be worth $1.5 billion by the magazine.
Forbes magazine said, the rest of Ye’s fortune comes from property, cash, his music archive, and a five percent ownership position in Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company, Skims.
Adidas has indicated that the “short-term negative impact” on net profits this year from halting the collaboration and manufacture of Yeezy branded items, as well as ceasing all payments to Ye and his firms, may be as high as 250 million euros or $248.9 million.
In recent months, Ye has courted controversy by canceling high-profile business partnerships in public and lashing out at other celebrities in social media posts. Some of his antisemitic tweets and Instagram photos were deleted, and he was banned from using the services.
The Grammy-winning musician made the claims in now-deleted Instagram postings from earlier this year that Adidas and US clothing retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N) had broken their contract by not constructing the permanent outlets promised for his Yeezy design brand.
He also claimed that Adidas had stolen his ideas for their own products.
Gap, which had previously announced the end of its association with Ye in September, said on Tuesday that it has permanently discontinued the Yeezy Gap brand and taken down the corresponding website YeezyGap.com.
According to the company’s beliefs, “Antisemitism, racism, and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values,” – Gap Inc.
Similarly, media sources claim that European design giant Balenciaga has severed relations with Ye.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData commented, “The saga of Ye… underlines the importance of vetting celebrities thoroughly and avoiding those who are overly controversial or unstable.”
When Adidas signed Ye to a long-term contract in 2016, it was being hailed as “the most significant partnership created between a non-athlete and a sports brand.” Adidas had previously snatched Ye from Nike Inc (NKE.N) in 2013.
The partnership allowed the German company to catch up to Nike in the United States.
Telsey Advisory Group believes that Adidas’ Yeezy sneaker line, with retail prices ranging from $200 to $700, generates around 1.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion) annually, or a little more than 7% of the company’s overall revenue.
Adidas stock dropped 3.2% after the market closing after the compny lowered its full-year outlook the previous week. The company promised further details in its next earnings report for the third quarter, scheduled for release on November 9.
