Adidas cuts ties with Ye over antisemitic comments, set to take $246M hit

In a statement, Adidas announced it “has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately” in the wake of controversy over antisemitic comments the rapper formerly known as Kanye West made. According to the Tuesday statement, the company will “end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.”

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in the statement. “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.”

Earlier this month, Twitter and Instagram booted Ye from their platforms over posts the social networks said violated their policies. In one post on Twitter, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. The quote, an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

“You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” West said in the “death con” tweet. It drew a sharp rebuke from the Anti-Defamation League, which called the tweet “deeply troubling, dangerous, and antisemitic, period.”

Adidas faced pressure to cut ties with Ye after the antisemitic comments, with celebrities and others on social media urging the company to act. On Tuesday, Adidas said it would suffer a “short-term negative impact” of about $246 million “on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter.”

The Adidas announcement is the latest fallout from Ye’s comments. Others include:

• Ye’s talent agency, CAA, dropped him.

• MRC Entertainment announced Monday that it is shelving a documentary about Ye.

• The Balenciaga fashion house cut ties with Ye last week, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

• JPMorganChase and Ye have ended their business relationship (this was in the works before the comments).

• Ye has ended his company’s association with Gap.

• Ye has told Bloomberg that he plans to cut ties with his corporate suppliers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.