Companies are severing ties with Kanye West left and right following his recent antisemitic tirades. Amidst the controversy, Adidas, which represented West’s Yeezy brand, announced that they would no longer work with the rapper. Following this news, West reportedly took matters into his own hands and went to Sketchers headquarters, presumably to attempt to form a new deal for his Yeezy line. However, he was promptly escorted from the location.ย
CNN reported that West “arrived unannounced and without invitation” at Sketchers’ Los Angeles headquarters. According to the company, West was engaged in “unauthorized filming” and was later escorted out “after a brief conversation.” Sketchers also released a statement in which they explained that they would not be working with West due to his recent remarks. Their statement read, “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech.”
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West reportedly went to Sketchers headquarters a day after Adidas announced that it was terminating its partnership with him. In early October, Adidas announced that they were putting the “partnership under review” after West put on a fashion show with “White Lives Matter” shirts. Even though the rapper previously claimed that Adidas still wouldn’t take action against him even though he said antisemitic comments, he found out the hard way that they weren’t going to tolerate his words.ย
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. 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,” Adidas’ statement read. “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”ย
Adidas isn’t the only company that has announced that it would no longer be working with West following his hateful remarks. Balenciaga previously revealed that they were cutting ties with him. Additionally, talent agency CAA dropped him as a client. Numerous celebrities have also spoken out against West’s comments, including his estranged wife Kim Kardashian. In a tweet, the reality star wrote, “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”
