Adidas is facing a lawsuit from investors who allege that the company was aware of Kanye West’s problematic behavior long before it terminated their partnership.
The investors claim that Adidas did not take adequate measures to mitigate financial losses or limit its exposure. The sportswear giant ended its collaboration with the designer and rapper, known as Ye, last year in response to his antisemitic comments.
Adidas has rejected these claims, stating: “We outright reject these unfounded claims,” and adding that it “will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them.”
West is not involved in the lawsuit. The rapper had designed a highly successful line of trainers under the Yeezy brand for Adidas.
Since the termination of the partnership, Adidas has acknowledged that it could incur losses of up to €700 million (£619 million) due to unsold Yeezy products.
When the collaboration ended in October, Adidas stated: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other form of hate speech.
Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.”
However, the investors who filed the lawsuit in the U.S. on Friday contend that Adidas was aware of other questionable behavior by West, alleging that former CEO Kasper Rorsted and other management discussed these issues.
The Wall Street Journal reported on a 2018 meeting where Adidas executives reportedly considered how to manage the risks of staff interacting with West and the possibility of severing ties with him.
Following the separation from West in October, Adidas initiated an investigation into reports that he had created a “toxic environment” at the company.
Rolling Stone magazine revealed excerpts from an open letter by Adidas employees, who claimed that the company was aware of West’s “problematic behavior” but chose to ignore it.
In response, Adidas stated that it could not confirm the veracity of the anonymous letter’s claims but emphasized that it takes such allegations seriously and has decided to launch an independent investigation to address them.
Last October, West’s show at Paris Fashion Week featured models wearing clothing with the slogan “White Lives Matter,” which the Anti-Defamation League has labeled as a white supremacist phrase created in 2015 as a racist counter to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Later that month, West’s Instagram and Twitter accounts were suspended following his antisemitic remarks.
