Adidas and Other Companies That Have Dropped Kanye Over Antisemitic Remarks

After facing several weeks of criticism and pressure, Adidas has finally cut ties with Kanye West after he made several comments that were deemed antisemitic, following in the footsteps of several other companies that have dropped the rapper recently.

West, who legally changed his name to Ye, has been involved in several controversies over the last month, beginning with his Yeezy fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, in which he debuted controversial "White Lives Matter" shirts on the runway. He went on to cover a multitude of topics in a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson, and later went on a social media tirade and was suspended from his Instagram and Twitter accounts after saying that he was "going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE."

The rapper also tweeted, "I actually can't be Anti-Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."

Throughout the past few weeks, brands and businesses have deemed some of his most recent comments the last straw, and have cut ties with the musician and fashion designer.

Below is a list of the companies and organizations that have recently ended their relationships with Ye.

Adidas

On Tuesday, the sportswear giant confirmed that it would no longer produce or sell Yeezy products after several weeks of saying the partnership was "under review."

In a statement, Adidas told Newsweek in an earlier report that it "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.

"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."

Last week as a guest on the podcast Drink Champs, Ye flaunted his connection with Adidas.

"The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s**t and they can't drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me. Now what?" he said in the interview.

Many have already praised Adidas for the move, including watchdog group StopAntisemitism, which wrote a letter to the company last week questioning why it had yet to cut ties.

"Finally, Adidas does the right thing," Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, said in an email to Newsweek. "Balenciaga, Vogue, and CAA had no problem stepping up and dumping him. While we're relieved Adidas finally found its moral compass, we expected quicker action given the company's Nazi past."

Balenciaga

Luxury fashion house Balenciaga ended its relationship with Ye only a few days before Adidas. The rapper opened the Balenciaga fashion show in Paris earlier this month, and the brand has since removed all pictures and videos of Ye from its Instagram.

"Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist," the French fashion house's parent company Kering told Women's Wear Daily (WWD) on Friday.

CAA, UTA and MRC

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has also dropped Ye, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Ye was a client at CAA, and also briefly a client at UTA, another talent agency, before returning to CAA in 2016. Though his stint there was brief, UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer condemned antisemitic comments and hate speech in a recent companywide memo.

"As a company we stand for a wide diversity of voices and ideas, but we can't support hate speech, bigotry or antisemitism," Zimmer wrote, according to Variety. "Please support the boycott of Kanye West. Powerful voices spewing hatred have frequently driven people to do hateful things."

In addition, MRC Entertainment has also announced that a completed documentary about Ye was shelved due to the controversies.

MRC studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley said in a memo on Monday, "We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform."

"Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years—the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain. This song was performed acapella in the time of the Pharaohs, Babylon and Rome, went acoustic with The Spanish Inquisition and Russia's Pale of Settlement, and Hitler took the song electric. Kanye has now helped mainstream it in the modern era," they wrote.

Skims and Kim Kardashian

Shapewear brand Skims, created and run by Ye's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, described Ye only as a "small minority shareholder," saying that he had "no active role at Skims," according to The New York Times.

Recently, without naming Ye specifically, Kardashian also publicly condemned hate speech and antisemitism on social media, writing, "Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on this terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."

Gap

While fashion brand Gap Inc. did not drop Ye this month over the antisemitic comments, the relationship with the rapper, who had a partnership with Gap for Yeezy for several years, was terminated last month.

Ye pulled the plug on the Gap partnership after accusing Gap of failing to release apparel and open retail stores as planned.

"Everyone knows that, you know, I'm the leader, I'm the king, right, so a king can't live in someone else's castle. A king has to make his own castle," Ye said in September after announcing the termination of the partnership.

Designer Willy Chavarria, who last worked with Ye in 2020 on Yeezy Gap, said in a more recent email, according to the Times, "I think it's important for brands that use Ye for their gain like Balenciaga and Adidas to be forthcoming on their position on hate speech."

Foot Locker

Workers at Foot Locker stores across the nation have been instructed to remove all Yeezy products from the shelves and stop selling them, the chain announced on Tuesday.

"We will not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops, and we have instructed our retail operators to pull any existing product from our shelves and digital sites," a spokesperson from the company told CNN. They added that Foot Locker would remain "a partner with Adidas and carry a wide assortment of their collections."

Peloton

Peloton, the stationary bike and workout subscription company said that it is no longer using Ye's music on its platform or in its workout videos.

"We take this issue very seriously and can confirm Peloton indefinitely paused the use of Kanye West's music on our platform," Peloton told website Pelobuddy on Tuesday. "This means our instructors are no longer using his music in any newly produced classes and we are not suggesting any class that includes his music in our proactive recommendations to Members."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint also made a remark at the end of a class, saying, "You will not hear that artist in my class at all, I promise y'all. I do not support hate speech whatsoever, baby. I don't tolerate that s*** at all, alright? You will not hear that artist in my class, I promise you."

T.J. Maxx

Following Ye's comments, TJX Companies, which includes T.J. Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls, stated that it has stopped supplying Yeezy products to its stores.

In a statement, the company said, "At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind. We have instructed our buying teams not to purchase this merchandise for sale in any of our stores globally."

Madame Tussauds London

According to the BBC, Ye's wax figure displayed at Madame Tussauds in London has been shelved after being launched in the wax figure museum in 2015.

The museum said in a statement that it "listens" to the public about "what they expect to see."

"Ye's figure has been retired from the attraction floor to our archive. Each profile earns their place at Madame Tussauds London and we listen to our guests and the public on who they expect to see at the attraction," Madame Tussauds said in a statement.

Donda Academy

While not necessarily a company that is dropping ties with Ye, Donda Academy, is discussing its future in the wake of the Ye controversies.

The school was opened and founded by Ye in Simi County, California, and is a Christian K-12 prep school named after Ye's late mother, Professor Donda West.

According to U.K. newspaper The Times, parents reportedly received an email on Wednesday from Donda Academy's principal, Jason Angell, that read, "at the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately. [...] THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW."

Newsweek reached out to a representative for Ye for additional comment.

Update 10/27/22, 2:00 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional businesses that have recently cut ties with Ye.