Topline
Adidas placed its lucrative partnership with rapper Kanye West “under review” amid recent controversial decisions by the rapper, Adidas said Thursday, putting West’s billionaire status in jeopardy.
Kanye West and Adidas’ long-time partnership is in jeopardy.
Key Facts
“After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review,” the company said in a statement provided to Forbes and other outlets, noting West and the company will continue to jointly manage Yeezy’s shoes and apparel lines during the review.
Adidas took a not so subtle dig at West, who has been mired in controversy recently and told off his other most notable corporate partner Gap last month, saying he wanted to end the partnership and that “successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values.”
West, worth $2 billion according to Forbes’ calculations, will likely lose his billionaire status if he cuts ties with the sportswear giant.
West’s deal with Adidas is worth $220 million annually and $1.5 billion total, per Forbes’ estimates, and his net worth would plummet to well below $1 billion without the partnership.
Crucial Quote
West wrote in an Instagram post including a screenshot of CNBC’s article on the paused partnership: “FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.”
Key Background
West, who changed his legal name to Ye last year, made headlines earlier this week for wearing a ““WHITE LIVES MATTER” shirt at his fashion show in Paris and for baselessly accusing the world’s second-wealthiest man, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, of causing the death of West’s “best friend,” an apparent reference to Louis Vuitton menswear director Virgil Abloh, who died of cancer last November. West shared in 2018 his bipolar disorder diagnosis. After West was under hot water for controversial statements he made during his failed 2020 presidential bid, his then-wife Kim Kardashian said West’s “words sometimes do not align with his intentions” and he “has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder.”
Further Reading
What’s Eating Kanye West? Leaving Adidas Would Drop The Volatile Superstar From Billionaire Status (Forbes)
Kanye West Claims LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault ‘Killed’ His ‘Best Friend’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/10/06/adidas-reconsidering-kanye-wests-yeezy-line/