The Anti-Defamation League urged sportswear giant Adidas this week to end its partnership with rapper Kanye West over his recent antisemitic comments, while West went on a podcast to brag that “I can literally say antisemitic s— and they cannot drop me.”
The comments came shortly before luxury fashion brand Balenciaga announced Thursday that it had severed ties with West, in a statement to Women’s Wear Daily shortly after publishing its third-quarter earnings results. The brand did not give a reason.
West, who goes by Ye, has been embroiled in controversy ever since Balenciaga’s recent Paris Fashion Week show earlier this month, at which he debuted a line of “White Lives Matter” shirts. Since then, the rapper and fashion mogul has unleashed a slew of antisemitism across social media and in news interviews, including vowing to go “death con 3 on Jewish people” and claiming that he is the target of a “Jewish underground media mafia.” He was locked out of several social media accounts as a result of his posts.
Balenciaga’s break-up with West was especially notable because the brand has had a years-long relationship with him. West first met the company’s lead designer, Demna, in 2014, and the two have regularly corresponded since; he’s spent reported millions of dollars on Balenciaga goods; and he began regularly collaborating with them in 2019 on shows, labels and other projects.
