Yeezy Tales Adidas Reportedly Let Kanye West Run Wild for a Decade!

Adidas Neglected to Address Kanye West's Unacceptable Behavior for a Decade, Report Claims

Adidas and Kanye West: A Partnership That Went Off the Rails

When Adidas joined forces with the then-popular Kanye West in 2013, it seemed like a match made in sneaker heaven. But little did they know that this partnership would become the second-most-profitable sneaker collaboration ever, right behind Nike’s legendary team-up with Michael Jordan. It was like a fashion fling on steroids!

At the time, West was at the peak of his popularity. He had just released Yeezus, an experimental album that left fans scratching their heads in awe. And let’s not forget that he was also engaged to Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star with her own massive fan following. It was a power couple made in celebrity heaven.

But alas, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And in West’s case, it was a swift and dramatic collapse. The catalyst? A series of troubling and downright antisemitic statements he made in late 2022. It was like watching a fashion trainwreck in slow motion!

But hold up, there’s more to this story than meets the eye. According to a juicy report in The New York Times, Adidas had been turning a blind eye to West’s misconduct for nearly a decade before the breakup. Picture this: It’s 2013, and West is so furious with the design team’s initial suggestions for his Yeezy shoes that he scrawls a swastika on the toe. Talk about making a fashion statement…of the worst kind!

And it doesn’t stop there! Former Adidas employees spilled some serious tea about the rapper. Emails, text messages, and internal records revealed a troubling timeline of events. West allegedly forced Adidas execs to watch adult videos at his Manhattan apartment. That’s one way to break the ice! During meetings, he reportedly threw shoes at Adidas higher-ups, accusing them of “slavery.” Talk about taking things to sole-destroying levels!

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But wait, it gets even crazier. One Adidas member claimed that West told him to kiss a photo of Hitler every day. Yikes! And if that wasn’t enough, a former chief executive accused the rapper of idolizing the former Nazi party leader and creating a hostile work environment. It’s safe to say that this partnership was more like a toxic relationship from a twisted reality TV show.

But let’s give credit where credit is due: West’s alleged behavior didn’t happen in a vacuum. Many former employees detailed his struggles with bipolar disorder and refusal to seek treatment. It seemed like he was on a fashion rollercoaster with no intention of getting off! Days without sleep, drinking on the job, and even fighting to include adult film actresses in his Yeezy videos – it was reality TV on steroids!

You won’t believe what was going on behind the scenes. Executives at Adidas had a text message chain aptly named the “Yzy hotline,” where they vented about their problems with West. Instead of cutting ties, it was like watching a slow-mo train crash. But hey, at least the executives had somewhere to air their grievances, right?

According to The New York Times report, all these incidents were reported to the company’s upper management. But did they take decisive action? Nope! In fact, a class-action lawsuit filed in April accused Adidas executives of failing to disclose the risks of partnering with a toxic individual. It’s like they turned their moral compass off, leaving everyone scratching their heads in confusion!

Adidas responded to the lawsuit, refuting the claims and insisting that their decision to end the partnership was the right one. But the question remains: how did they let things spiral out of control for so long? Perhaps their taste for the limelight blinded them to the glaring red flags. Ouch!

In the end, this fashion fling turned into a disaster of epic proportions. We can only hope that lessons have been learned, and companies will think twice before getting tangled in such messy partnerships. But who are we kidding? Fashion is a chaotic world, where alliances are made and shattered faster than you can say “Kanye West.”

Josh Rosenberg Assistant Editor

Josh Rosenberg is an Assistant Editor at HotSamples, keeping a steady diet of one movie a day. His past work can be found at Spin, CBR, and on his personal blog at Roseandblog.com.