Ye’s History of Misconduct Before Adidas Blowup

 A year after the costly end of Adidas Yeezy's partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, a report by The New York Times has revealed the extent to which top Adidas executives were aware of the rapper and designer's problematic behavior, including his use of anti-Semitic language and verbal abuse of brand employees, reports message.

Citing previously undisclosed internal records and information from former Adidas employees, she also detailed the extent to which the German sportswear giant tried to placate Ye, despite his increasingly belligerent behavior. In addition to the royalties and cash Ye received, Adidas reportedly agreed to a $100 million annual fund that was officially earmarked for marketing, but which Ye was able to spend "with little oversight."

Adidas ended its partnership with the rapper in 2022 after a series of public outbursts that included anti-Semitic comments and mocking of Adidas management. That year, Yeezy sales were expected to reach $1.8 billion, according to the Times.

But previous reports from other outlets and a new Times account suggest the company has overlooked the rapper's behavior for years. Back in 2013, at a meeting at Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, shortly after the brand and Ye formalized their partnership, Ye drew a swastika symbol on a sneaker prototype design sketch to show Adidas employees his dissatisfaction with the proposed designs. Times reported. Over the years, Adidas has implemented measures to help employees who work directly with Ye, such as rotating people on and off the front lines of dealing with the artist, assigning a human resources officer to the group, and providing employees with meditation subscriptions. application and organization of sessions similar to group therapy.

Since ending the collaboration with Ye, Adidas has been selling off the stock of Yeezy shoes it had already produced, greatly reducing the financial impact it faced. Recently, new CEO Bjorn Gulden apologized for comments he made on a podcast, saying Ye did not mean his anti-Semitic remarks.

Adidas told the Times that it "does not tolerate hate speech and abusive behavior, which is why the company has terminated the Adidas Yeezy partnership."