After a series of slippages of an anti-Semitic nature by Kanye West, Adidas had to react. The famous clothing brand whose founders were members of the Nazi Party announced on Tuesday, October 25, that it was stopping ” immediately “ his collaboration with the American rapper now known as Ye.
“After careful consideration, the company has made the decision to immediately end the partnership with Ye”Write the group in a statement. “Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech”, he added. The German group also announced “terminate the manufacture of products” of the rapper’s Yeezy brand.
Adidas recalls being “the sole owner of all design rights for existing products (…) under the partnership”, anticipating a possible legal battle to come. The group will also “stop all payments to Ye and his companies”. This decision will have “a short-term negative impact of up to 250 million euros on the net result” of the company in 2022.
Untenable attitude in the face of the skids of the star
The collaboration between the three-stripe brand and the American star has long been one of the most successful in the fashion world. In development since 2014, the rapper’s Yeezy sneaker collection has enjoyed phenomenal success that helped make Kanye West a billionaire. Relations between the two partners had deteriorated significantly in recent months in connection with the various escapades of the star.
“Your silence is a danger to the Jews”tweeted at Adidas Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, an NGO fighting anti-Semitism. “We cannot allow Ye’s anti-Semitism to normalize: we must all demand that Adidas condemn his racist rhetoric by reassessing their partnership. »
Thousands of signatures, and still no word, @adidas? Your silence is a danger to Jews. We can’t let Ye’s… https://t.co/GqqpVZAMlJ
The German company announced in early October that it would re-examine her relationship with Kanye West, without giving a reason. He had appeared a few days earlier wearing a t-shirt crossed out with the slogan “White Lives Matter” at a fashion show in Paris. This slogan, used by the American far right, diverts the name of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which campaigns against generalized racism against African-Americans.
In the wake of the t-shirt affair, Kanye West gave an interview to Fox News, the conservatives’ favorite channel. The interview, already controversial, became even more so when the media Vice published unaired excerpts, in which the rapper made remarks laced with racist conspiracy theories.
Dropped by his sponsors
A few days after this episode, Ye was suspended from Twitter after tweeting that he was going to attack Jews in a post since deleted by the social network for breaking its rules. He was also suspended from Instagram.
A banner was hung over a busy Los Angeles freeway over the weekend that read “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “Honk if you agree”. Its authors were photographed performing the Nazi salute.
On Monday, the CAA agency representing Kanye West, one of the most important in Hollywood, said it was ending the partnership. The production company MRC has for its part announced to cancel a documentary already finished on the rapper. “We cannot support any content that expands its audience”said the company, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Other show business personalities, including Ari Emanuel, the president of another California agency, Endeavor, called on all companies to cut ties with the rapper. “Those who continue to do business with Kanye West give his misguided hatred an audience”wrote Ari Emanuel in the FinancialTimes. “There should be zero tolerance anywhere for Kanye West’s anti-Semitism. »
Last week, the fashion house Balenciaga also ended its collaboration with the singer. “Hate speech is never acceptable or excusable”wrote on Twitter and Instagram on Monday his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, without mentioning the name of the father of her children. “I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and demand that the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric against them end immediately”she continued.
Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence… https://t.co/M5yvV5gi7i
Controversial attitude
The 45-year-old rapper, who has already compared himself without irony to Michelangelo, exploded in 2004 with the album The College Dropoutthe start of a masterful career that has seen him imbue rap with elements drawn from soul and electro.
His unpredictability earned him criticism, but it was appeased for years by his celebrity. His honesty even sometimes earns him praise, as in 2005, when he denounced President George W. Bush’s response to the devastating Hurricane Katrina.
But over time, his words become increasingly bombastic and contested. After the release of the album The Life of Pablo, in early 2016, Kanye West experienced mental health problems – including bipolar disorder – and disappeared from public life. He resurfaced at the end of the year, traveling to Trump Tower to meet newly elected President Donald Trump. This public support – rare among celebrities – for the Republican, repeatedly accused of racism and sexism, arouses astonished and hostile reactions.
In 2018, he created controversy with his about slavery then meets Donald Trump at the White House for a surreal one-on-one, during which the rapper delivers an enigmatic ten-minute monologue. Two years later, the rapper launched himself into the race for the presidency, without success. In mid-October, he announced his intention to acquire Parler, a social network created in 2018 and intended for American ultraconservatives.
If, in the past, commentators had opted for a certain leniency, recalling his mental health problems, the general opinion seems to be changing. In the pages of New York Timescolumnist Charles Blow “is not Mozart”but a man “narcissistic, addicted to attention and praise”. “He participates in his [propre] torture. He takes care of it and uses it. Some of it may be natural, but some of it is manufactured, to flesh out the legend. »