Investors are suing Adidas over its Yeezy deal with American rapper Ye.
The lawsuit alleges that the German footwear company knew that Ye,
formerly known as Kanye West, behaved problematically years before the
firm formally ended its partnership with him.
- Adidas partnered with Kanye West in 2013 and debuted the Yeezy shoe brand in collaboration with him in 2015.
- The shoes continued to gain popularity through 2018 despite Ye making controversial comments about slavery that year.
- Adidas terminated its partnership with Ye in October 2022, shortly after the rapper made antisemitic comments.
- The lawsuit against Adidas alleges that the company knew about the risks of associating with Ye since 2018.
- The suit names Adidas' former CEO Kasper Rorsted as a defendant.
- About 10% of Adidas' annual revenue came from its Yeezy collaboration, according to analysts cited by CBS.
- Adidas' decision to end the sale of Yeezy clothes and shoes is expected to cost the company $1.3B this year.
