Ye (FKA Kanye West) has been in hot water over the last week for multiple issues outside his beef with adidas and Gap. Wearing/placing a shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” in his Yeezy Season 9 fashion show and being called out by Tremaine Emory over his disrespect of Virgil Abloh behind the scenes overshadowed the up-in-the-air status of his adidas Yeezy line. Now, adidas has come forward with a press release that states “we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review.”
This all began in 2020 when Ye constantly bashed his partners at The Three Stripes, stating he needed to be on the board of directors otherwise he would leave. On top of this, he openly admitted he wanted to wear one of his biggest competitors' products, Jordan sneakers, in a since-deleted tweet and on a podcast appearance with Nick Cannon. Things ramped up near the end of summer this year when Ye stated his displeasure for Yeezy Day, harassed members of the adidas board on Instagram, and even mockingly stated that soon-to-be ex-CEO, Kasper Rorstead, was “dead at 60.”
He even went so far as to say he was terminating his adidas deal early. “It’s going to cost you billions to keep me It’s going to cost you billions to let me go,” Ye stated in a now-deleted Instagram post, continuing, “I’m not waiting 7 months to leave like the breach letter I sent you refers to It’s up now I’m going to make things unbearable.”
Unbearable it seems as the German sportswear giant has just released a press statement, reading…
Throughout the course of this partnership, adidas has stood behind Ye during his various controversies, from his continued support of Donald Trump to his “Slavery was a choice” comments. It seems his harassment of adidas and their employees, like Daniel Cherry III, may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe it has to do with the aforementioned “White Lives Matter” controversy. What actually prompted adidas to publicly state the partnership is “under review” may never be known.
What does this mean for adidas Yeezy releases going forward?
As of this writing, planned releases from the adidas Yeezy line are still going to launch. Delays may occur like we have seen recently with pairs like the adidas Yeezy 350 V2 CMPCT "Slate Bone" or Yeezy 500 "Taupe Black," so keep your eyes peeled on the latest updates from adidas and Ye on what will go down.
What is going to happen if the partnership between adidas and Yeezy ends?
If/when the partnership ends, its all up to adidas whether or not they want to release any leftover stock and/or upcoming pairs that have yet to hit retail shelves. Looking back at the termination of the Nike and Yeezy partnership, the coveted Nike Air Yeezy 2 "Red October" saw a shock drop months after their partnership ended and Ye's adidas deal began. According to Forbes, if the deal ended between the two Ye would not longer be a billionaire, putting a huge damp in his plans to take his Yeezy brand solo.
Ye's response to adidas' press release
During the course of this writing, Ye took to Instagram and posted a screenshot of a Tweet from CNBC that reported adidas' press release with the caption "FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS."
Could this all be ploy to force adidas' hand and make them step away from the deal? We'll have to continue to monitor the adidas vs Ye situation as it seems it will play out in real-time. For more updates regarding the future of adidas and Yeezy, keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app.
Recap
- - adidas has officially stated that the partnership between adidas and Yeezy is "under review"
- - According to the press release, adidas will "continue to co-mange the current product during this period," meaning we should continue to see adidas Yeezy releases
- - Ye's recent outbursts and controversies may be a part of a plan to force adidas to take action against a partnership he has been trying to exit for months. This in no means excuses his recent actions and behavior.
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
