In an Instagram message, the 'Off the Grid' rapper also accuses the brand of re-issuing older Adidas Yeezy styles, designing Yeezy colorways and hiring employees for the line without his approval.
- Aug 3, 2022
AceShowbiz - Kanye West's longtime partnership with Adidas is hitting a rough patch. The Grammy Award-winning artist has ripped the company, through which he has released his Yeezy shoes line, for holding Yeezy Day allegedly without his consent.
In an Instagram message to Complex on Tuesday, August 2, the 45-year-old vented his frustration over the matter and other issues he has with the brand. "Adidas made up the Yeezy Day idea without my approval," he began his message, "then went and brought back older styles without my approval picked colors and named them without my approval."
Ye also alleged that Adidas "hired people that worked for me without my approval stole my colorways without my approval stole my styles and material approaches without my approval went and hired a gm of Yeezy without my approval took talent on the production side and sprinkled them throughout Adidas Originals without my approval" among other things which upset him.
"Even though they did a Balenciaga collaboration they completely slowed down production on the shoes me and Demna developed for Gap by trying to bully Gap even though my contract states I can do casual shoes which I was doing when I did fashion shoes," he additionally penned.
"When I originally ordered adidas to make more Yeezy slides the GM lied to my face and said they didn't have the capacity," the Atlanta native claimed. "Meanwhile, Adidas was copying my slides and making their own versions of the Yeezy slide." He ended the message by boasting, "Yeezy is 68% of Adidas online sales. God step in."
Adidas has not responded to Kanye's claims. The company launched the annual Yeezy Day on Tuesday. On the special day, fans are given the opportunity to purchase highly-sought-after Yeezy sneakers that previously sold out and are re-released every hour on the Confirmed app and Yeezy Supply website. The event, however, is not without a glitch as both platforms have been experiencing server issues due to the high interest.
Ye and Adidas' collaboration started in 2015. He has renewed his deal through 2026.
