Kanye West dropped by Adidas over recent remarks, causing him to lose his status as a billionaire

On Tuesday Adidas terminated its partnership Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after stating that recent comments made by him were not compatible with their company values.

Adidas said in a statement on their official website: “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.”

“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 company said.

Adidas went on to to note the short-term losses that would be incurred by this decision, they expect a negative impact of €250 million ($248 million) in their 2022 income.

Hours later, Gap and then Foot Locker followed suit and said they had also decided to remove 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,” a Foot Locker spokesperson said.

Gap also shut down YeezyGap.com. Any customer who attempts to access this website will be re-directed to Gap’s main website.

“Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values,” said Gap, who also cut ties with Ye in September.

The loss of sponsorship means Ye will lose his status as a billionaire. Forbes estimates that the consequences of the lost Adidas deal will result in Ye’s net worth dropping to $400 million.

Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, StopAntisemistism and the International Legal Forum have praised Adidas for their move.

“In the end, Adidas’ action sends a powerful message that antisemitism & bigotry have NO place in society,” the ADL’s statement read.