THE controversial musician known as Kanye West (Ye) was defended by the CEO of Adidas, Bjorn Gulden, who asserted that he didn’t think the controversial figure intended the antisemitic remarks that led to the termination of his lucrative Yeezy contract with the German sportswear firm.
After provoking controversy with his erratic social media posts, including one in which he asked for “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,“ Adidas ADSGn.DE discontinued its connection with West.
Gulden stated on the In Good Company podcast that Ye had made certain statements that weren’t “that good” in response to the controversy, which has cost Adidas tens of millions in lost sales.
The CEO stated in a Sept 13 episode, “I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person - it just came across that way,”
Ye is “one of the most creative people in the world... both in music and what I will call street culture,“ according to Gulden.
A spokeswoman for Adidas stated that there had been no change in the company’s viewpoint and that links to Ye will stay dissolved.
He declared that terminating the partnership was reasonable.
Gulden, who was once in charge of the rival Puma, was appointed CEO of Adidas at the beginning of 2022. Additionally, Adidas stated in May that it would sell some of its products and contribute a portion of the revenues to organisations fighting racism and antisemitism after considering what to do with unsold Yeezy stock.
At the end of the day, the company’s expected full-year loss has been reduced thanks to robust Yeezy stock sales.
