Adidas severs ties with Kanye West over antisemitic remarks
Berlin, Oct 25 (EFE).- German sportswear brand Adidas on Tuesday said it was ending its partnership with Kanye West over the US rapper’s controversial antisemitic remarks.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
Adidas announced it would discontinue the production of Yeezy products with immediate effect, a move that could result in a hit of as much as €250 million ($246.5 million) to net income in the current fiscal year.
In an interview on the Drink Champs podcast last week, West claimed that George Floyd — an African American who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 — died of drug use.
An autopsy and court ruling concluded that Floyd had died of suffocation caused by officer Derek Chauvin.
During a recent Paris fashion show, West sported a t-shirt with the words ‘White Lives Matter’ — a slogan often used by white supremacists in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Twitter and Instagram recently both blocked West’s accounts after a large number of users reported a string of antisemitic comments.
In one post, West criticized Jared Kushner — former President Donald Trump’s son in law — saying he just wanted to make money.
“I don’t know … I just think that that’s what they’re about is making money. I don’t think that they have the ability to make anything on their own. I think they were born into money,” he said of Kushner, who is also Jewish.EFE
jam/ch/ks
