CNN Business
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Adidas will open an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Kanye West, with whom the company had a partnership that it ended in October.
In a statement on Thursday, Adidas said “it is currently unclear whether the accusations made in an anonymous letter are true. However, we take these allegations very seriously and have taken the decision to immediately launch an independent investigation into the matter to address the allegations.
The statement follows an article by Rolling Stone which reported that Adidas board members ignored inappropriate behavior by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, as part of his partnership with his Yeezy brand. .
Rolling Stone says it obtained a letter on Tuesday sent by former high-ranking Yeezy employees to board members regarding “the toxic and chaotic environment created by Kanye West.” The letter went on to say, “This type of response from a brand partner is one that Adidas employees should never be subjected to, and Adidas management should never tolerate.”
Adidas ended its partnership with Ye after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks in recent months. In late October, West addressed the anti-Semetic comments — as well as what he said about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter — in a rambling 16-minute video shared by WmgLab Records on YouTube and apparently recorded sometime after ‘Adidas has terminated its business relationship. with him.
“I think Adidas felt like because everyone was ganging up on me, they had a right to just take my designs,” West told a small crowd.
In the video, West did not apologize for his anti-Semitic remarks but appeared to try to distance himself from any “hate groups”.
“I have no association with any hate group,” West said, closing his remarks with prayer. “If a hate happens to a Jewish person, it is not associated (waves to himself) because I demand that everyone walks in love.”
Adidas had partnered with West since 2013, when the company signed his brand away from rival Nike. In 2016, Adidas expanded its relationship with the rapper, calling it “the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and a sports brand.”
West currently does not have an attorney or publicist representing him in this case.
– CNN’s Dan Heching contributed to this report
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