Kanye West made his voice heard, and Adidas responded. On Tuesday night, the rapper criticized the brand through a detailed Instagram post, accusing Adidas of continuing to profit from his Yeezy designs despite their terminated partnership.
“When you google http://Yeezy.com, the Adidas site appears before the Yeezy site,” West complained. “Stop doing this. Stop your moves to hold me back. Our partnership is done.”
By Wednesday, Adidas had seemingly complied, removing all Yeezy references from its website. This includes eliminating mentions of Yeezy products and wiping past news articles about the brand's collaboration with Kanye West. Clicking on links to Yeezy-related content now leads to empty pages. Adidas had previously stated that 2025 would mark the full conclusion of its ties with Yeezy.
Adidas has removed all mentions of YEEZY off of their website.
When selecting images to their news in regards to previous Yeezy news the news articles have been wiped. pic.twitter.com/oCvTtsuHyu— GoodAssSub (@GoodAssSub) January 9, 2025Did you read this?
Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden expressed a desire to move on from the controversy during an October press conference, emphasizing that the company had resolved its issues with West. "There aren’t any more open issues," Gulden said. "And there is no money going either way. Both parties agreed there’s no need to fight anymore… it belongs in the past."
Gulden also confirmed that Adidas planned to sell off its remaining Yeezy stock by the end of 2024, marking a definitive end to the collaboration. The relationship between Kanye West and Adidas had been strained for years, with tensions peaking following West’s controversial anti-Semitic remarks in 2022.
The backlash from these comments led Adidas to sever ties with the rapper and withdraw its involvement with Yeezy. The brand released a strong condemnation of West’s statements, but in 2023, Gulden struck a somewhat conciliatory tone during a podcast appearance on *In Good Company*.
“I don’t think he meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person,” Gulden remarked. “It just came off that way... I think Kanye West is one of the most creative people in the world.”
Adidas’ actions to distance itself from Yeezy appear to reflect its ongoing effort to put the controversy behind and refocus on its brand image.
