*Adidas is reportedly stuck with Yeezy Sneakers worth more than $500 million after ending its partnership with the artist over his anti-Semitic remarks.
As Insider reports, citing the Financial Times, the sportswear giant is trying to sell the merchandise under its own brand. The company expects to take a $247 million hit in profits after ending the Adidas-Yeezy partnership in October.
Several companies severed ties with Kanye West (now officially known as Ye) following backlash over his anti-Jewish supremacy rants, including Balenciaga, Gap, and Footlocker.
The rapper’s career has taken a major financial hit after he tweeted in October that he would go “death con 3′ on ‘JEWISH PEOPLE.”
READ MORE: Kanye West Allegedly Showed Explicit Pictures & Video of Kim K to Yeezy/Adidas Staff: REPORT
“I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me,” Ye stated prior to Adidas cutting ties with him. After the company dropped the troubled hip-hop star, Adidas said it owns the Yeezy design rights and announced plans to cease production of Yeezy products.
“Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership,” the company said in a statement.
As The Daily Mail reports, West later issued a response, saying: “As to Adidas, you can start to make new designs for footwear, apparel and accessories immediately,” he allegedly wrote in a text to his ex-attorney Quinn Emmanuel. He also addressed his soured relations with Gap, writing “As to Gap, the non-compete expires December 15, 2022. You own the Yeezy name and all trademarks associated with Yeezy.”
Adidas confirmed last month that it launched an investigation following a Rolling Stone report that West showed explicit content of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, to staffers during a meeting. An Adidas insider also claims Ye told a young woman of color that she didn’t “deserve to sit at the table” during an hours-long meeting and made her sit on the floor.
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