Kanye West, who is now know as Ye.
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Adidas and Yeezy staff were told to carry on as usual after Kanye West made antisemitic comments.
A new Bloomberg report sheds light on the unraveling of the Adidas-Yeezy partnership.
The sportswear giant was reportedly reluctant to lose Yeezy because of the brand’s success.
Adidas really didn’t want to end its partnership with Kanye West, even as others walked away, according to a new report from Bloomberg
Bloomberg’s report sheds light on how dependent the German sportswear brand became on Kanye West’s Yeezy brand, because of its success in generating blockbuster sales. And, how reluctant it was to drop the brand because of this.
One unnamed source told Bloomberg that after Kanye West – now known as Ye – made antisemitic comments that led him to be suspended from Twitter and Instagram, Adidas was slow to react.
Yeezy and Adidas workers were reportedly told “to keep working as if nothing unusual was happening,” Bloomberg’s Eugene Kim and Tim Loh wrote.
According to RBC estimates, which were cited by Bloomberg, Adidas went on to generate more than $100 million in Yeezy sales during the first two weeks of October – the period in which Ye was making offensive comments to the public.
Ye then went on to boast about his invincibility at Adidas in a now-deleted podcast.
“The thing about me and Adidas is, like, I can literally say antisemitic shit and they can’t drop me,” he said, per The Times of London. “I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what? Now what?”
In late October, the brand eventually did end its Yeezy partnership. The company estimates that leftover stock could cost it as much as $1.3 billion in sales.
After months of deliberation, Adidas’ new CEO Bjørn Gulden confirmed this month that the company will sell these items and donate the profits to charity.