Kanye West’s roots of antisemitism run deep — and Adidas seemingly went along for the ride for a long time.
The German sportswear giant, which terminated its lucrative Yeezy partnership following West’s antisemitic rants last year, allowed the behavior to go unchecked for nearly a decade, a New York Times investigation reports.
West — now formally known as Ye — helped bring in the company billions of dollars after entering into a collaboration in 2013.
But employees were allegedly subjected to his open admiration of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, forced screenings of sexually explicit films and a toxic work environment. This was long before he shared on social media that he was going to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Along with allegedly advising “a Jewish Adidas manager to kiss a picture of Hitler every day,” the “Jesus Walks” lyricist reportedly drew a swastika over a sketch of footwear while the Adidas team pitched ideas.
According to the report, West told an Adidas executive he paid a seven-figure settlement to one of his own employees who accused him of “repeatedly praising the architect of the Holocaust.”
Adidas employees reportedly shared their collective complaints in a “Yzy hotline” group chat designed to address issues. But West’s egregious behavior was seemingly rewarded.
In 2019, the company gave him a $100 million annual expenditure meant for Yeezy marketing but was “in practice, a fund that he could spend with little oversight,” reports the Times, which says it spoke to current and former staffers and cited mounds of internal documents to back up the claims.
Last year, CNN reported on West’s history with antisemitism, which included the self-proclaimed “greatest artist that God ever created” wanting to name his 2018 album after the notorious Nazi Party leader.
A former employee — who parted ways amid a legal settlement over workplace complaints, including harassment — also told the outlet that West’s inner circle knew of his “obsession” with Hitler.
The 24-time Grammy Award winner allegedly spoke openly about reading Hitler’s 1925 autobiographical manifesto, “Mein Kampf.”
In a podcast interview last month, Adidas’ current CEO Bjørn Gulden said he doesn’t believe West “meant what he said” about Jewish people.
“Very unfortunate, because I don’t think he meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person. It just came across that way,” the honcho stated.
Lamenting the end of the profitable partnership, Gulden added: “That meant we lost that business, one of the most successful collabs in the history … very sad.”
The Times reported that Gulden apologized to the Anti-Defamation League for his remarks days later. The ADL previously said West’s rants have led to an increase in antisemitic incidents.
