Adidas is on the hot seat to cut ties with Kanye West in aftermath of antisemitic remarks
"I can say antisemitic s--- and Adidas cannot drop me," Kanye West said during his now infamous tirade against Jews during the Drink Champs Podcast earlier this month.
With a social media uproar focused on Adidas brewing, Ye's theory is now being tested.
Here's the deal: The list of brands distancing themselves from West is growing by the day. Balenciaga and Vogue publicly cut ties last week, and on Monday talent agency CAA dropped West as a client, and production company MRC said that it's shelving a documentary on West. Now the scrutiny has shifted to the German sportswear giant and its long-standing partnership with the controversial artist.
Celebrities including Kat Dennings, Josh Gad and Meg Stalter condemned Adidas for sticking by West. Detlef Schrempf, former NBA sharpshooter and Adidas sponsoree wrote, "I represented the 3 stripes during my career & beyond. @adidas needs to make a statement NOW! Suspend any relationship w/ @kanyewest until he has received psychiatric help, but why wait? End it now. He won't change #erasethehate."
Jonathan Goldblatt of the ADL released a statement Monday aimed squarely at Adidas calling its failure to cut ties with West "pathetic."
Pressure on Adidas increased this weekend after a group of Neo-Nazis placed banners on the 405 highway in Los Angeles saying "Kanye is right about the Jews."
"Today on the 405 in Los Angeles. We are waiting @adidas," read Shannon Watts' tweet in response to the incident that received more than 100,000 likes.
Earlier this month after West wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt in public, Adidas said that it was reviewing its lucrative partnership with his Yeezy brand.
"After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review," the apparel maker said in a statement. "We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period."
Bottom line: Since that statement, West has come out and targeted Jews explicitly in shocking public statements, becoming the most prominent openly anti-Semitic public figure in a generation.
With pressure mounting and West's hate campaign against Jewish people continuing, it seems the question is when, not if, Adidas will cut ties.
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