Adidas terminates relationship with Ye 'immediately' amid antisemitic comments

Adidas has terminated its relationship with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

"Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the company said in a press release Tuesday. "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 on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter," the release continues. "adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be given as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9, 2022."

There has been continued fallout since Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, made antisemitic remarks on Twitter a few weeks ago.

The rapper later followed with more offensive comments against the Jewish community on Revolt TV's "Drink Champs" in a since-deleted interview.

There has been growing pressure on big-name brands, including Adidas, which sells Ye's Yeezy label, to cut ties with the rapper once and for all.

"I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me. Now what? Now what?," the rapper said during his "Drink Champs" interview.

Adidas had been silent on the matter of whether or not it will break up with Ye, but the company had released Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 v2 in a new color, Salt, on Sunday. The sneaker has already been bought and resold more than 900 times on online reseller marketplace StockX.

Ye's comments against the Jewish community were also referenced over the weekend by a group of Los Angeles neo-Nazis who hung antisemitic flyers on a 405 freeway overpass.

"GMA" previously reported that the Beverly Hills Police Department told ABC News in a statement that it was "aware and investigating the dispersal of some antisemitic flyers in the north end of the city" that had been sent out overnight, but said there were no current threats to the community.

MORE: Kanye West responds to 'White Lives Matter T-shirt backlash: 'THEY DO'

In addition to Ye's remarks against the Jewish community, another recent controversy has seen the "Donda" rapper sporting a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt during his surprise Yeezy Season 9 show in Paris along with conservative political commentator Candace Owens.

The phrase has been described by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center as a white supremacist hate slogan that originated in 2015 as a racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter. The groups note that the phrase has been commonly used by white supremacist groups such as the Aryan Renaissance Society and the Ku Klux Klan on everything from promotional materials to campaigns.

Responding to the backlash over the T-shirts, Ye wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post, "Here's my latest response when people ask me why I made a tee that says white lives matter... THEY DO."

In a later, also since-deleted, post, he wrote, "My tee s*** on everybody's showssss. Nothing happened but my t-shirt... To the Arnaults that hire anybody that worked for me remember my one t-shirt took allllll the attention," referring to the wealthy Arnault family, which runs the luxury goods company LVMH, subsidiaries of which include brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Bulgari, Dom Pérignon, Tiffany & Co. and Moët & Chandon.

In the wake of Ye's contentious comments and actions, companies previously associated with the rapper have stated that their relationships with him would be coming to an end.

Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency, also known as CAA, announced Monday that it would no longer represent the rapper. Film and television studio MRC has also announced that it would be shelving a documentary on Kanye West saying in a statement that they "cannot support any content that amplifies his platform."

Several reports have also stated that brands such as Balenciaga, as well as Vogue magazine, will no longer work with Ye.

MORE: Kanye West ends Yeezy partnership with Gap

Ye's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, along with many other public figures have stood in solidarity with the Jewish community following his antisemitic remarks.

"Hate speech is never OK or excusable," Kardashian tweeted on Monday. "I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."

Other notable figures including Kendall Jenner, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Schumer, John Legend and others have also spoken out against Ye's comments aimed at the Jewish community.

Adidas terminates relationship with Ye 'immediately' amid antisemitic comments originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com