Enlarge this image Ye, then known as Kanye West, holds a Yeezy sneaker while speaking onstage at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in 2019.Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company
Ye, then known as Kanye West, holds a Yeezy sneaker while speaking onstage at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in 2019.
Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company People are calling for Adidas to end its working relationship with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in response to the numerous offensive and antisemitic remarks the rapper has made in recent weeks.
Ye has faced some consequences for his comments: Both Twitter and Instagram have restricted his accounts (now he says he plans to purchase far-right-friendly social media site Parler), and Balenciaga fashion house is reportedly cutting ties with him.Prominent Hollywood agency CAA, which has represented Ye since 2016, ended its relationship with him this month, the Los Angeles Times reported midday Monday.And George Floyd’s family plans to sue him over comments he made on a podcast.
Pop Culture The family of George Floyd plans to file a $250 million lawsuit against Ye The German footwear giant said at the start of this month that its partnership was under review — but since then has not issued any updates and continues to release new Yeezy merchandise, even as the rapper doubles down on antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories.
He appeared to boast about that fact in a since-removed Oct.
16 episode of the podcast Drink Champs , a clip of which has circulated widely on social media in recent days.
“The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say anti-semitic s**t, and they can’t drop me,” Ye says, before repeating himself slowly and solemnly.
“I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me.
Now what? Now what?”
That question was answered ominously over the weekend, when a group of people hung antisemitic banners — including one reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” — and raised their arms in apparent Nazi salutes over a busy Los Angeles freeway .A banner used the name of an organization that has been identified by the Anti-Defamation League as an antisemitic hate group.Authorities are also investigating antisemitic fliers distributed in Beverly Hills that same weekend.
Technology Kanye West to buy the conservative-friendly social site Parler Those incidents come at a time of rising antisemitism in the U.S ., as the ADL notes in a campaign urging people to “tell Adidas to run away from hate.”
“While Adidas has refused to condemn Kanye West’s antisemitism, hate groups like White Lives Matter and the Goyim Defense League are celebrating and promoting Ye’s comments to further their extremist agendas,” the organization wrote, calling his behavior “dangerous.”
Scores of critics are now urging Adidas to drop Ye and distance itself from his hateful views.Their current contract is said to run through 2026.
Business Balenciaga fashion house reportedly cuts ties with Ye More than 90,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the company to cut ties with Ye, and the hashtag #BoycottAdidas has been trending on Twitter for days.Public figures from David Schwimmer to Alexander Vindman have called Adidas out, and United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer reportedly issued a company-wide memo condemning antisemitism and urging employees to “support the boycott of Kanye West.”
Adidas did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
Adidas and Ye have collaborated for nearly a decade Adidas and Ye — who released his first Air Yeezy sneakers with other brands in the aughts — have been working together since 2013, and formalized their partnership about two years later.
The Yeezy collaboration is best known for its lineup of sneakers, but also includes clothing, lingerie and other footwear.And it’s a lucrative one: It generates an estimated $2 billion a year — nearly 10% of the company’s annual revenue — as Morningstar analyst David Swartz told The Washington Post .
Culture The fashion world embraced Ye.
After his ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts, that may change The fashion world embraced Ye.After his ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts, that may change Listen · 7:14 7:14 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed < iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1127744344/1127744345″ width=”100%” height=”290″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” title=”NPR embedded audio player”> Transcript.
