Kanye West, also known as Ye, has publicly made several antisemitic comments and posts this October. In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Oct. 6, West claimed that Jews are actually Black people, so it is impossible for him to be described as antisemitic. He also said that when he refers to Jew he means, “The 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are [sic].”
The next day, Ye shared screenshots of text messages on his instagram where he claimed Jewish people were trying to “influence” and “threaten” him. Then, in a Tweet now removed by Twitter, Ye referred to going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” claiming that they “toyed with” him, and that they “tried to black ball anyone who opposes” their agenda.
Adidas dropped its partnership with Kanye following his antisemitic comments. The shoe giant released a statement Tuesday morning saying it does, “not tolerate anti-semitism and any other sort of hate speech”.
Other brands such as Gap announced that they would immediately remove all of Ye’s merchandise from their stores and website. “Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values,” said Gap. The retailer already announced its plans to end its partnership with Ye in September, but said at the time that it would sell through its remaining Yeezy inventory.
French fashion house Balenciaga also ended their relationship with West on Oct. 21 due to his antisemitic comments after walking their runway during Paris Fashion Week.
Adidas initially put the Yeezy brand collection under review in late September after Ye wore a T-shirt that said “White Lives Matter” to Paris Fashion Week. Following his anti-semitic remarks, the public put pressure on the company to completely cut ties with Ye, who said, “I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me.”
In this same interview, Ye criticized the “Jewish media” and said,“The Jewish community, especially in the music industry…they’ll take us and milk us till we die.”
West will also lose his billionaire status with the loss of this partnership. According to Forbes, Kanye’s net worth dropped from an estimated $1.5 billion to $400 million.
Shares in Adidas plunged almost 8% following the termination of their partnership with Ye. Adidas also shared in their statement that this would have a short-term negative impact of up to 250 million euros ($246 million) on net income in 2022 due to high seasonality in the fourth quarter.
Despite the initial drop in shares, much of the public has had positive reactions to this news. A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said, “Adidas has finally joined other brands and agencies and cut ties with Ye (Kanye West). This would not have happened without the almost 175,000 who signed our petition and the celebrities and influencers on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world who helped promote it and amplified the message.”
Many believe they should have ended the partnership sooner. However, many people are relieved that Adidas is taking a stand against antisemitism and taking away some of his platforms used to spread hateful rhetoric.