Kanye West: scandal behind the scenes at Adidas | Entertainment

2023-10-28 15:16:36

With his deal he became a billionaire and the German brand became a global trend. But the collaboration between rapper Kanye West (46) and Adidas was obviously doomed to failure from the start.

The almost 10-year partnership between West and Adidas ended exactly a year ago, after the sporting goods manufacturer responded to the musician’s anti-Semitic comments. Way too late? According to a new report from The New York Times, the brand has long known what makes Kanye West really tick. Actually from the beginning…

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Sea the report The Adidas team was “thrilled” with the rap star at a meeting in 2013 at the company’s German headquarters when they presented him with the first ideas for the collaboration.

2016: Kanye West, who changed his real name to Ye, at an Adidas Yeezy presentation

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They showed him a selection of fabrics and shoes. But Kanye West wasn’t impressed.

“To show how offensive he found the designs, he took a sketch of a shoe and drew a swastika on the toe with a felt-tip pen,” writes The New York Times. The US paper relies on insiders who were at the meeting.

West later allegedly told a Jewish Adidas manager that he should kiss a portrait of Hitler every day, according to the Times. “And West told Adidas colleagues that he admired Hitler’s mastery of propaganda,” an insider is quoted as saying.

West also allegedly told a member of the company’s board that he had paid “seven figures” in compensation to one of his own senior executives who accused him of repeatedly praising Hitler.

And the reactions to West’s crazy behavior? “Tears were common,” the report says, “and anger.” But no consequences were drawn. The deal was lucrative for everyone involved, with sales of over a billion dollars per year.

Front Row in New York (from left): Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian with daughter North and Anna Wintour attend the Adidas Originals x Kanye West show in 2015

Foto: Getty Images for adidas

Adidas only ended its collaboration with West in October 2022. The trigger: West’s increasingly public anti-Semitism. Among other things, Kanye said in an interview with convicted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones: “I don’t like the word ‘evil’ in connection with Nazis. I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”

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“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other type of hate speech,” the statement said at the time. “Yes’s (Kanye West, editor’s note) recent comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and violate the company’s values ​​of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

The late insight was put into perspective again almost a year later. Several months later, in September 2023, Adidas boss Björn Gulden apparently no longer assessed Kanye’s statements as clearly as he did back then. In an interview with the investor podcast “In Good Company,” he said he doubted West “meant what he said.”

Gulden’s comments were met with horror by the International Auschwitz Committee.