Kanye West continues to feel the extreme fallout of his recent rants on social media and in interviews. People have begun to hit him where it hurts, his bank account. As friends continue to distance themselves from Ye, companies are also making it their mission to sever ties with him as well. Today he took another massive blow that could compromise the billionaire status that he’s worked so hard for.
Kanye West’s partnership with Adidas has been one of the crown jewels of his fashion empire. They house his collection of sneakers, The Yeezy Boosts, which have made him a ton of money during their partnership. Since coming together in 2013, Kanye West has pocketed a cool 1.8 billion of his net worth from the sneaker giant. Despite their contract not being over for several more years, the pressure was mounting against Adidas to drop him following his rants. West went on Drink Champs ranting that the company could not drop him, but they proved this could not be further from the truth.
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to fighting bias, began working with Adidas last Friday to help them begin to cut ties with West. ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt published an open letter written to Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted and chairman Thomas Rabe urging them to make a public statement on the matter and send West packing. The company had been fairly quiet outside of an October 6th statement where they said their relationship with Kanye was “under review.”
Now they are making an official statement, revealing they have ended things with Kanye effective immediately. “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
This decision will effectively bump Kanye West out of billionaire status. His remaining fortune will be valued at around $400 million. This is based on real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims. Adidas will take a loss as well, reporting that they will lose $246 million in fourth-quarter sales.
Kanye West has been very critical of news outlets in the past for not getting his net worth correctly and had a personal score with Forbes, which he claimed over the years has always misreported his finances. Back in 2019, he called out the magazine, claiming he was left off their billionaire list despite showing them his $890 million in revenue from Adidas. While the company did list the sneaker partnership as a billion-dollar empire, it fell short of calling West a Billionaire.
Adidas follows Def Jam records, Kanye’s home since he began releasing music, in ending their partnership with the Yeezy founder. Def Jam also dropped his label, GOOD Music, from their roster. GOOD Music was home to the likes of Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, John Legend, and several other landmark acts associated with West over the years.
Balenciaga and The Gap also ended their partnerships with Kanye West. His talent firm, CAA, has dropped him as a client, and a documentary based on his life has been permanently shelved. This is following weeks of celebrity friends also distancing themselves from Kanye.
LeBron James had to can an interview they did for The Shop after it was deemed insensitive. Rapper N.O.R.E had to issue an apology after Kanye used his show Drink Champs to relate conspiracy theories shared with him by Candace Owens that George Floyd actually passed from an OD and not at the hands of the officer. Members of George Floyd’s family have threatened to sue for the spread of misinformation.
Diddy, who was the one West was texting when he shared his views, has called his friend “whitewashed” on social media and claims Kanye needs to be saved. Ex-wife Kim Kardashian has shared her views on his outburst, showing her support for the community and effectively putting more space between herself and her baby’s father.
