adidas and Ye Officially Settle All Claims
“Both parties said we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all the claims,” said adidas chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden, who noted there were no payments included in the agreement.
Two years after the termination of their partnership, adidas and Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, have reached an out-of-court settlement that concludes all claims associated with the German sportswear brand’s Yeezy collaboration, according to Reuters.
“Both parties said we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all the claims,” adidas chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden said in a statement via Business of Fashion. He added that no payments were included in their agreement. “No one owes anybody anything anymore. So whatever was is history.”
Ye lost his highly-successful partnership with adidas, which ultimately earned upwards of $1 billion USD per year and pushed him to billionaire status, after making a slew of other offensive statements in October of 2022. The sportswear label officially severed ties with the rapper following a Twitter rampage that included his challenging of Jewish identities, his perpetuation of harmful conspiracy theories, and his threat to “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
The New York Times later reported that adidas “had been tolerating his misconduct behind the scenes for nearly a decade. Per the examination, Ye “made antisemitic and sexually offensive comments, displayed erratic behavior, and issued ever escalating demands” throughout the partnership, and adidas’ leaders excused his poor behavior for the sake of profits.
In the aftermath of the terminated deal, adidas was left with roughly $1.3 billion USD worth of Yeezy product, which it has continued to sell down over the last two years. The brand stated that it aims to conclude sales of the collaborative line by the end of this year.
