All the Brands That Have Cut Ties With Kanye West
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Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has certainly had a rough year in the media and in the public eye. As several of his controversial actions and statements have culminated this fall, many brands with whom Ye had a relationship, specifically through his Yeezy line of clothing and shoes, have chosen to cut ties with him. Read on below to learn about all the brands that have cut ties with Ye.
Why are brands cutting ties with Ye?
Earlier this month, Ye came under fire for tweeting that he was going to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” These anti-Semitic remarks, as well as his other controversial actions and statements this year, have led to what seems to be a general distaste for him in the fashion industry right now.
Foot Locker
Foot Locker has reportedly instructed all of its stores to remove all of Ye’s Yeezy sneakers from their shelves and stated that they will no longer be stocking any future sneaker drops associated with Ye. Foot Locker had been stocking Yeezy sneakers as part of a partnership with Adidas and has no intentions of ending its relationship with Adidas at this time.
TJ Maxx
Department store TJ Maxx has also joined the numerous retail stores that will no longer stock items produced by Ye’s companies. The company has cited Ye’s recent anti-Semitic comments as its reason for doing so. The store has stated that it does not tolerate discrimination or hate of any kind and have told its buying teams not to purchase Yeezy products going forward.
Adidas
On October 25, Adidas announced that it would also be ending its relationship with Ye due to his anti-Semitic comments. According to a statement from the company, “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.”
Adidas has been the company responsible for the production of Ye’s Yeezy brand of shoes and clothing and will now be ending all production of these products.
Gap
One company whose relationship with Ye was actually terminated by Ye himself is Gap. Ye cut ties with Gap in September, before he began to come under fire in the media, because he alleged that the brand had violated its contract with him. Ye accused Gap of taking shirt designs he created and selling them for $20 while pricing his actual Yeezy-branded items at $200.
Shortly before canceling his deal with Gap, Kanye stated that he was ready to move on from many of his corporate partnerships and start running more of his business directly through companies he owns.
Balenciaga
French luxury fashion house Balenciaga was one of the first companies to cut ties with Ye. In an official statement, a representative from Balenciaga’s parent company Kering told Women’s Wear Daily, “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”
Ye’s relationship with Balenciaga in the past has been primarily through his connection with Gap, so they weren’t engaged in any current projects at the time anyways.