Former Adidas employees have accused the company of turning a blind eye to Kanye West’s alleged bullying.
In an open letter from former staffers, the 45-year-old rapper has been accused of inappropriate behaviour, with detailed claims that the Yeezy founder – whose brand had ties with the sportswear company until they cut ties last month – would show staff and job candidates pornography on his devices.
As reported by Rolling Stone, the group of former Adidas employees have accused Kanye of showing them graphic pictures and videos, as well as allegedly revealing intimate material of his then-wife Kim Kardashian.
According to the publication, the letter read: “He has, in years past, exploded at women in the room with offensive remarks, and would resort to sexually disturbing references when providing design feedback.
“This type of response from a brand partner is one that Adidas employees should never be subjected to, nor should Adidas leadership ever tolerate.”
The letter is titled ‘The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership’, and reportedly highlights the “responsibility, accountability, and protection that Adidas failed to provide their employees throughout what we experienced as years of verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks.”
The article references dozens of former workers in their piece.
The letter says: “As much as we all would love to solely blame Kanye, the undeniable truth is that the Adidas executive team and the board have been huge enablers.”
In a statement, an Adidas spokesperson commented: “Adidas does not tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and therefore has terminated the adidas Yeezy partnership.
“We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with our employees about the events that lead [sic] to our decision to end the partnership.
“They have our full support and as we’re working through the details of the termination, we have been clear that we want to keep our employees’ talent and skills within the organisation.”
However, the spokesperson also said the company “will not discuss private conversations, details, or events that lead [sic] to our decision to terminate the Adidas Yeezy partnership and decline to comment on any related speculation”.
Kanye previously caused controversy when he posted anti-Semitic messages on social media and prior to that wore a White Lives Matter t-shirt.
Adidas said at the time: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. 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.
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
