Adidas Ends Partnership With Kanye West

Kanye West (right) with Adidas CMO Eric Liedtke

The other shoe finally dropped for Kanye West.

Following weeks of inaction from Adidas in the face of his antisemitic remarks and other erratic behavior, including making its execs watch a porn video while he chided them for stealing his designs, the shoe company ended its relationship with the entrepreneur on Tuesday morning.

Sarah Camhi, director of Trade Marketing at Adidas, calls out her company’s silence over Kanye West’s recent comments: pic.twitter.com/JtTwi6zPxn

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 25, 2022

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the company said in a statement. “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 said the decision came after a thorough review of its relationship with the fashion mogul that began in 2013 when it signed his Yeezy brand away from Nike.

I'm a little shocked that @adidas has still made no statement denouncing hate and anti-semitism, let alone firing @kanyewest 's ass. Adidas seems more than happy to accept being branding a hate supporting company. https://t.co/1mdVGbaJC3

— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) October 24, 2022

Heralded at the time by Adidas as "the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand," the dissolution of the deal will negatively impact its income by $246 million in the short term.

Adidas will terminate the production of Yeezy-branded products immediately and end all payments to West and his companies. The company — which West accused of stealing his designs in recent weeks — also claims sole ownership of all design rights to existing products and previous and new colorways under the partnership.

The move makes Adidas just the latest in a long list of partners who have dropped the billionaire in the wake of massive public pressure.

West talent agency CAA confirmed he was no longer a client on Monday. MRC Entertainment studios shelved a documentary about the rapper-turned-fashion mogul. Fashion house Balenciaga and JPMorgan Chase had cut ties with him the previous week.

Robert Gordy, Motown Executive and Brother of Label Founder Berry Gordy, Dead at 91

Robert Gordy Courtesy Universal Music Enterprises

Music executive Robert Louis Gordy Sr. — the younger brother of Motown founder Berry Gordy ­— has died.

Motown Records' parent company, Universal Music Enterprises, shared the news in a release Sunday. It stated that the 91-year-old, who transformed the label's publishing division into an industry powerhouse, passed away from natural causes Friday (Oct. 21) at his home in Marina del Rey, California.

Berry Gordy (92) confirmed the news, which comes a little over a year after Robert's eldest son, Robert Jr., died of natural causes from a non-specific disease at 67.

“I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of my younger brother, Robert,” Berry Gordy said in a statement. “He was absolutely the best lil’ brother anyone could ever hope for. His ability to succeed at whatever he attempted or that I threw his way, amazed me over the years. I will miss his love, his support, and his loyalty.”

Motown Museum mourns the passing of Motown alumnus Robert Gordy.

"He was absolutely the best lil’ brother anyone could ever hope for," said Berry, "I will miss his love, his support, and his loyalty."

More from @freep. https://t.co/2MrjZolOah

— Motown Museum (@Motown_Museum) October 24, 2022

Robert was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1931. The youngest of eight children, he followed his big brother into boxing and later music.

Using the pseudonym Bob Kayli, he had a minor hit in 1958 with a song he co-wrote with his brother. The single, "Everyone Was There," peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned the artist a chance to perform it on "The Dick Clark Show."

Robert continued to release music as Kayli, but his follow-ups did not enjoy the same success. By the early sixties, his career as a recording artist was over. His impact on Motown, however, had just begun.

He took over Jobete Music Publishing in 1965 at the age of 34. Over the next twenty years, he turned the division into one of Motown's most valuable assets and, according to the release, moved it from being a holder of song copyrights into a profitable international publishing company with a catalog of over 7,000 classic songs.

Kanye West Dumped by Balenciaga in Wake of Antisemitic Comments

Photo courtesy Balenciaga

French fashion brand Balenciaga has ended its relationship with embattled billionaire Kanye West.

The move comes in the wake of antisemitic statements and other offensive comments he made on multiple media platforms in the past month.

"Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist," Kering — the parent company of the fashion house —informed Women's Wear Daily in a statement.

The announcement came in response to a query by the magazine, on Thursday, following the publication of the company's third-quarter results.

Balenciaga did not elaborate on the reasons for severing the relationship with Brown. It is safe to assume that the media firestorm enveloping his recent actions played a part.

The musician and fashion mogul worked closely with Balenciaga and its mononymous artistic director Demna for the past two years. 

That relationship was still strong as early as the begging of this month when West opened the summer 2023 Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week.

Balenciaga and Demna, who previously told Vogue in an interview that West is one of a few people who understand his work, seemingly have had enough of the mercurial artist.

It is unclear what the decision means for the businesses' relationship with West's ex-wife. Kim Kardashian has appeared in advertising campaigns for the brand after being introduced to it by West.

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A post shared by Balenciaga by Demna (@demnagram)