Kanye West has officially lost his billionaire status after Adidas became the latest company to pull the plug on its partnership with the rapper/entrepreneur, according to Forbes. The company announced on Tuesday, October 26 that it would no longer produce or sell Yeezy designs, effective immediately. It’s estimated that the decision will cost Adidas more than $246 million in lost sales in 2022 alone, CNBC reports.
- The decision was a long time coming. Given West’s recent antisemetic comments, which compounded his earlier offensive and false statements on George Floyd and slavery, it was only a matter of time before more companies dropped him. As Adidas announced in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday: “adidas 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.” It added: “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.”
- The collapse of the deal costs West his billionaire status. While the fall in his net worth comes as a result of most of his business deals collapsing, Fobes says the Adidas Yeezy partnership was a massive part of his worth. The publication claims he’s now worth somewhere around $400 million. That’s still a considerable fortune, but well short of the $1.3 billion he was at a couple of years ago. His assets are now said to be rooted in the properties he owns, his music catalogue, and the small stake he has in Kim Kardashian’s Skims.
- Not long after Adidas dropped West, Gap followed suit. The clothing company’s relationship with West has also been tumultous as of late given the rapper’s increasingly erratic behavior, leading them to announce the end of their partnership in September. However, on Tuesday, they took things one step further by shutting down YeezyGap.com and redirecting the site to Gap.com. “Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values,” the company said, per CNBC.
- Foot Locker is also cutting ties with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand. Also on Tuesday, Foot Locker said it would immediately remove all Yeezy products from its stores. “Foot Locker, Inc. does not tolerate any form of antisemitism, or hateful and discriminatory behavior. While we remain a partner with adidas and carry a wide assortment of their collections – we will not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops,” the company said in a statement.
- He’s not working with Camille Vasquez anymore, either. While it was announced just last week that he’d hired Johnny Depp’s former attorney/law firm, Vasquez dropped him earlier this week and the firm ended their relationship, per The Cut. That came after he was dropped by Balenciaga, talent agency CAA, and bank JP Morgan.
