Kanye West has reportedly lost his billionaire status after Adidas decided to cut ties with him due to his series of anti-Semitic comments. The fashion label is just one of the other companies that have chosen to terminate their partnership with the controversial rapper.
West used to be confident that Adidas would never end their partnership despite the controversies he had been into. But after careful consideration, the company released an official statement on Tuesday, October 25, to announce the termination of their collaboration.
The fashion brand stressed that it doesn't "tolerate antisemitism" and any other form of hate speech, which the artist has been doing as of late. "Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous," it continued.
That said, it found him violating its "values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness." Kim Kardashian's ex's deal with the German brand accounted for $1.5 billion of his net worth, estimated to be around $2 billion.
So, without it, he would only be worth about $400 million, losing a significant amount of his wealth. West and Adidas have worked together on his Yeezy sneakers since 2013.
Aside from ending the partnership, the production of Yeezy-branded products would also be put to stop. All payments to Ye and his companies would also be halted.
It will reportedly have a "short-term negative impact" of up to $250 million on Adidas' net income this year, considering the Christmas quarter has begun when greater demand is usually seen.
Adidas started to review its partnership with West earlier this month after the "repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation." Aside from his anti-Semitic posts, the record producer also accused Adidas and Gap Inc of "failing to build contractually promised permanent stores for products from his Yeezy fashion line" in a now-deleted tweet. He also accused Adidas of stealing his design for the brand's own products.
Adidas' decision came on the heels of West's claim on the "Drink Champs" podcast that he could say anti-Semitic stuff, and the company couldn't drop him. He then followed his statement with another negative commentary, saying he would go "death con 3" on Jewish people, which probably meant "defcon," a military term "to increase in force readiness above normal readiness."
Aside from Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, and Vogue have also cut ties with West following his week-long anti-Semitic comments. The fashion designer is yet to comment on the issue.
