What’s Next for Kanye’s Yeezy Brand as Adidas Copyright Feud Continues
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Kanye West Antisemitic Comments: All The Fallout And Backlash Explained
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Adidas’ announcement on Tuesday that it has severed ties with Kanye West has sparked questions over the future of the beleaguered star’s Yeezy brand.
On Tuesday, Adidas confirmed that it would no longer produce or sell Yeezy products amid controversy over his recent string of antisemitic comments, including writing on Twitter on October 3 that he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people.”
In a statement, Adidas told Newsweek that it “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort 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.”
“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,” the statement continued. “Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
While the musician, who has legally changed his name to Ye, still officially owns the company’s trademark, Adidas said in its statement that it was “the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership.”
Adidas, which is one of a number of companies to cut ties with Ye recently, added that more information will be provided as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9.
While the “Jesus Walks” rapper certainly didn’t help his brand’s standing with Adidas through his antisemitic comments, the commercial divorce was a long time coming by the star’s own design. Weeks before his antisemitic comments, Adidas that its partnership with Ye was “under review.”
Back in September, Ye targeted Adidas and Gap, accusing both companies, with whom he had deals at the time, of stealing his designs and attempting to shut him out of business meetings. His ties with Gap were severed soon afterward.
On September 7, AllHipHop reported that Ye, who has previously hinted at the prospect of opening his own retail stores, shared an Instagram post in which he discussed wanting more control of his Yeezy footwear brand.
“I need a shoe company like how Jamie Salter bought Reebok or I’ll take over some shoe factories,” he is quoted as writing, in reference to the recent acquisition of Reebok from Adidas.
He added, however, that JPMorgan Chase’s Managing Director and Vice Chairman Jing Ulrich “is on the board of both Adidas and JP Morgan. What shoe company will give me control? I need to be the head of the board and chief decision maker.”
West further voiced his frustration in an interview with Bloomberg in September.
“I feel like there’s a lot of controlling and handling to suppress my ability to affect the American economy and industry,” he said.
A Matter of Time
Chris Lambert, co-host and co-founder of the top-rated Ye-themed podcast Watching the Throne, told Newsweek that it was only a matter of time before things came to a head with Adidas, which started its partnership with Ye in 2015.
“Ye wanted to end the relationship with Adidas, by, I think, any means necessary. He said as much himself,” said Lambert. “They should have just cut ties back in September when he first asked. But, at this point, hate speech that’s doubled down on, tripled down on, quadrupled down on, is definitely a legitimate reason to cut ties.”
With the Yeezy brand representing an estimated 4 percent to 8 percent of Adidas’ revenue, according to Forbes, it would make business sense for unreleased versions of the popular shoe to see the light of day at some point in the near future.
Lambert observed that with Adidas “claiming copyright ownership over the designs, it does create an interesting narrative of when they might return to the products, without the YZY name. Do they just sit on the designs simply to deny Ye usage? Do they wait a few years to re-release under a different in-house brand?
“And how do people react? Will Ye fans even want to purchase disassociated shoes? I’m sure there will still be some demand, at least as a novelty. I imagine that some of the more iconic looks might come back (like Wave Runners), but that maybe we’ll see evolved versions of the 350 that are reminiscent of the YZY style but formally much different.”
Though the Yeezy brand is best known for its footwear, apparel and accessories have also become part of the fold, including the unreleased futuristic sunglasses known as SHDZ that have been worn by a select few, including Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.
New Beginnings
Lambert told Newsweek that releasing the eye wear would be a good start for Ye in terms of the Yeezy brand striking out as its own independent entity.
“After all that promotion in September, there was definite interest,” he said. “It seemed like an easy win. Especially if the SHDZ were under $50.
“In terms of the larger picture, I think you re-establish the brand with what it’s known for: footwear. It’s what the consumer knows and expects and, honestly, wants. Going in another direction is asking the market to re-think the entire brand, which is viable to do over time. But I think, in these initial stages, YZY should re-capture as many of its current consumers as it can.”
On October 16, when Ye appeared as a guest on the Drink Champs podcast, he said of his connection to his former business partners: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s**t and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
It took only a matter of days for Ye to be proven wrong, after what seemed to be several weeks of campaigning on his part to dismantle the relationship.
No Longer a Billionaire
Forbes has reported that the end of the longstanding business relationship caused Ye’s net worth to plummet from a dizzying $2 billion to a comparatively humble $400 million. Away from money and assets, it is yet to be seen how Ye’s recent behavior will affect his own reputation in the long-term.
While Ye may find another business partnership or, indeed, achieve his dream of sustainably striking out on his own, will the new beginning that could arise from the ashes have been worth such colossal cost?
“If there’s a positive outcome, it’s a Pyrrhic one,” Lambert told Newsweek. “Ye wanted to be free from contracts and corporate constraints. He is. But the cost seems steep.
“And if the world succeeds in canceling him, we’ve lost arguably the most impactful artist of the 21st century, who had the capacity to do so much more. Unfortunately, Ye’s potential for greatness is limited only by his penchant for self-destruction.
“If Ye has a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment and completely changes his rhetoric, he’s still galvanized a new wave of antisemitism that will affect people for who knows how long and to what degree. I don’t think there’s a positive outcome at this point, just some that are less sad than others.”
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