Ye has just lost his status as a billionaire after Adidas cut ties with him over his antisemitic comments. Kanye West, now known as Ye, has lingered in the news for a while due to his viral remarks that are perceived to be racist and offensive. Adidas becomes the latest company to close business with the rapper after pressure from the public to drop the popular star.
The effect of the termination has taken Ye off Forbes's billionaire list. Recently, the business magazine valued Ye at $2 billion in a publication in April. However, on Tuesday, Forbes announced that the entertainer would no longer be in the elite category as he is currently valued at $400 after his deal with German sports apparel company terminated.
Adidas announced closing the seven-year-old partnership with Kanye due to his recent comments. The sports brand said: “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.”
The company further stated that the actions were taken after a thorough review of the situation and announced the decision to close the partnership, quit the creation of Yeezy branded wear, and discontinue payments to Kanye's brand. The statement further emphasized that the actions would begin with ‘immediate effects.’
Adidas’ decision was largely influenced by American celebrities who pressured the brand to do something about Ye’s offensive statements. Earlier in October, the brand had announced that the sneaker deal it had with the rapper was under review.
Ye had made boastful claims on the 16th of October that Adidas won’t end his deal with them.
“... can say antisemitic things, and Adidas won’t drop me”, he said in an interview.
Other Deals Cut-Off
Adidas is not the only brand to sever ties with the rapper, as Balenciaga and even his talent agency, CAA, have stopped relationships with him. In addition, JPMorganChase completely terminated business corporations with the superstar — although the decision was already in place before his recent remarks.
Ye himself also cut company ties with Gap. The rapper announced his decision in a statement to Bloomberg.
Later on Tuesday, Gap stated that Kanye’s recent comments and behaviors were the reasons that led to the end of the partnership.
Kanye has been a topic for discussion for a while following his racial remarks and opposition to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The singer called the movement a scam and reaffirmed his stance on the Paris Fashion show a few weeks back by wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt.
Kanye West also went after Jewish people just after being suspended on Instagram. The Singer tweeted that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an obvious reference to the US military readiness condition scale termed ‘DEFCON.’
His recent activities have put him against numerous black American celebrities. Even his former friend, John Legend, tweeted, “Wierd how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.”