In late 2022, sportswear giant Adidas ended its partnership with iconic rapper and fashion designer Kanye West after he made a string of antisemitic comments. The move ended the Yeezy product line, though Adidas has continued to sell off its remaining Yeezy merchandise. But West is not happy about how that whole process has been going.
In a video shared to social media on Monday, Kanye West called out Adidas for selling what he referred to as “fake” colorways of the Yeezy 350 sneakers he designed and also claimed that the company is suing him for $250 million and not compensating him for the sale of the shoes.
“Let me explain to you really clear to you guys what is happening with Adidas,” West said in a video shared to Instagram. “Not only are they putting out fake colorways that are not approved, they’re suing me for $250 million and they’re also not paying me for shoes that they’re putting out that have my name on it.”
Obviously, this is pretty horrible news for West all around, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
Never thought I’d see the words “Adidas” and “fake Yeezys” in a sentence https://t.co/rXdrtGyGSF
— Toji (@chefToji) February 27, 2024
https://twitter.com/ShevyJonjo/status/1762320397012172829?s=20
Ownership of your designs and intellectual property is important y’all… https://t.co/5hN4BF720v
— #RetailGawd (@NicoThaGreat357) February 26, 2024
What he think was going to happen? "He sold his soul to the devil for a happy meal" https://t.co/iKMWb9il4Y
— Just Vibe. (@C0mplexSocieTY8) February 26, 2024
It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out between Ye and Adidas.
Of course, West could have avoided all of this by simply avoiding his antisemitic tirades.