Adidas Ends Partnership with Ye After Antisemitic Remarks

Adidas ended its partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after the rapper made several antisemitic remarks. 

Key Quotes: The sportswear company released a statement, saying, “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 said it would “end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies,” creating a net loss of up to €250 million in 2022. 

Key Context: Twitter locked Ye’s account for “violating Twitter’s policies” earlier this month after he tweeted that he would go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” On Saturday, an antisemitic hate group hung a banner over a Los Angeles highway that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews.” Several companies moved to limit their association with the rapper, including Gap, Balenciaga, Vogue, and the Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread but less prominently featured in right-rated outlets. Coverage varied on calling Ye by his current or former name; those using “Ye” in headlines primarily included mainstream Center and Lean Left outlets like ABC News (Lean Left bias). Coverage from the left was more likely to include Ye’s interview with Fox News (Right bias) host Tucker Carlson — which included more antisemitic remarks — in his list of controversies.