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Ye, previously recognized as Kanye West, along with Adidas, have arrived at a resolution regarding their protracted legal dispute. On Tuesday (October 29), the CEO of the footwear giant, Bjørn Gulden, disclosed that all claims have been dismissed, and neither side is owed any financial compensation.
“Both parties agreed that further conflict was unnecessary and retracted all claims,” Gulden stated, according to Bloomberg. “No remaining debts exist between us. Everything that occurred is now part of history.”
Adidas terminated its collaboration with Ye back in 2022 after his objectionable anti-Semitic comments, including his declaration to go “[DEFCON] 3 on Jewish people.” The German company released a statement saying: “Ye’s recent actions and words have been intolerable, hateful, and hazardous, violating our core values of diversity, inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.”
In a twist, Ye had claimed, “I can literally say anti-Semitic s**t, and they can’t drop me” during his well-known “Drink Champs” interview the previous year. Following those comments, the rapper has since reflected on his controversial statements in tracks such as “VULTURES” and “KING,” both featured on VULTURES 1.
Gulden spoke out regarding the end of their partnership during the podcast “In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen,” where he labeled Ye as “one of the most innovative individuals globally.” He remarked, “That prompted [Adidas] to nullify the contract and refrain from selling the product. [It’s] very unfortunate because I don’t believe he intended the impact of his words, and I don’t consider him a bad person. It merely came off that way.”
The fallout impacted Adidas financially, leading to a $655 million decline in sales in the final quarter of 2022. The company recorded a net loss estimated at $551 million for that same year.
The settlement between Ye and Adidas came months after the Grammy-winning artist criticized them for selling “unauthorized” Yeezys 350 V2s in a “Steel Grey” color scheme. He also highlighted the silence of other celebrities while an “actual Fortune 500 company [exploits] one of your heroes in real life.”