The German sports equipment manufacturer Adidas announced on Tuesday October 25 that it was stopping “immediately” his collaboration with Kanye West, after remarks of an anti-Semitic nature made by the American rapper in recent weeks.
“After careful consideration, the company has made the decision to immediately end the partnership with Ye”the group said in a statement. “Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech,” he added.
Human rights defenders had denounced the silence of the German company Adidas in the face of comments by the artist, now officially known as Ye, who was increasingly isolated from the companies and brands with which he worked. “Your silence is a danger to the Jews”, tweeted at equipment manufacturer Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, an NGO fighting anti-Semitism. The famous brand, whose founders were members of the Nazi party, had indicated in early October that it would review its relationship with Kanye West, without giving a reason. A few days earlier, the rapper had appeared wearing a t-shirt crossed out with the slogan “White Lives Matter” during a fashion show in Paris. This slogan, used by the American extreme right, diverts the name of the “Black Lives Matter” movement which militates against generalized racism against African-Americans.
After that episode, Ye was suspended from Twitter after tweeting that he was going to attack Jews in a post that the social network has since deleted for violating its rules. He was also suspended from Instagram. A banner was hung above a busy Los Angeles freeway over the weekend, which read “Kanye is right about the Jews” and “Honk if you agree”. Its authors were photographed performing the Nazi salute. Recently, the 45-year-old artist decided to buy the social network Parler, popular with conservatives and Donald Trump.
His current fortune is due in particular to the collection of Yeezy sneakers developed with the German equipment manufacturer since 2014, a successful partnership that made him a billionaire. Along with Beyoncé, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, Kanye West is one of the celebrities with whom Adidas has partnered to delight its clientele in the lifestyle segment and more generally boost its sales, particularly online.
On October 24, the CAA agency representing Kanye West, one of the most important in Hollywood, indicated that it was breaking its partnership. The production company MRC, for its part, announced to cancel a documentary already finished on the rapper. “We cannot support any content that expands its audience”said the company, quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Last week, the French fashion house Balenciaga also ended its collaboration with the singer.
“Hate speech is never acceptable or excusable”reacted for his part on October 24 on Twitter and Instagram his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, without mentioning the name of the father of his children. “I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and demand that the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric against them end immediately”, she wrote. This is the first time she has spoken out about Kanye West’s anti-Semitic outing.
Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.
—Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 24, 2022
In response to the rapper’s racist remarks, other voices have already stepped up. Comedian Amy Shumer posted a message of support for the Jewish community that she invited to circulate on social networks. Many Hollywood stars have already joined his approach by taking it up on their pages.
If you don’t know what to post. Let’s start with this. Do you know what the Jewish community is afraid this will lead to? 1 in 2 people don’t know the holocaust happened. Stand-up. #nevergain @JessSeinfeld pic.twitter.com/sXxrqXFbb3
—Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) October 23, 2022
American comedian David Schwimmer, one of the stars of the cult series Friendsdid not fail to point out in a post on Instagram titled “byE” that “Jews make up only 2.4% of the US population but are victims of over 60% of all religious hate crimes. Whether or not Kanye West is a person with a mental disorder [le rappeur est bipolaire], there is no doubt that he is a bigot. His hate speech calls for violence against Jews.”