Kanye West Headache: Balenciaga Cancels Partnership With Rapper, Adidas Deal ‘Under Review’
The Kanye West-Balenciaga partnership is over. The French fashion house will no longer collaborate with the rapper.
According to Daily News, Balenciaga cut ties with Kanye after he made several anti-Semitic comments in the past week.
"Balenciaga no longer has any relationship with nor any plans for future projects related to this artist," the fashion brand's parent company told Women's Wear Daily Friday.
Kanye was at a Paris fashion show for designers earlier this month. It was during the Paris Fashion Week he showed off a shirt with the words "White Lives Matter" on its back. The rapper immediately faced backlash after the show.
Right-wing media provocateurs liked the move, but it was criticized by people like the editor-at-large of Vogue, who said, "There is no excuse, there is no art here."
In subsequent interviews, including one with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Monday, Kanye claimed he was being persecuted by "the Jewish underground media mafia."
Kanye West had been collaborating with the Balenciaga and The Gap franchise before it ended last month. The collaboration had been going on for just over two years.
Kanye West, Adidas Partnership Is Also Under Review
Following the Adidas announcement that they were reviewing their partnership with Kanye West, the rapper posted on Instagram: "F******CK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS, ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS."
The company then stated: "After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period."
Adidas and Kanye's tumultuous relationship has been heavily covered in the media. The first item produced by the Kanye West-Adidas collaboration was the YEEZY BOOST 750 shoes, which were released in 2015.
Adidas and Kanye have continued to release Yeezy shoes and slides with bizarre designs. According to Yahoo, the Yeezy line brings in about $2 billion annually, about 10% of Adidas' total annual revenue.
However, Kanye warned about the company's new Adilette 22 sandals in June, calling them "a fake YEEZY created by Adidas themselves," The Daily Beast reported.
Adidas did not say anything about the rapper's controversial posts until October, when they said their deal with him was being looked at.
The Anti-Defamation League and other well-known personalities in the fashion industry, like Gigi Hadid, have criticized Kanye for how he acts and speaks.
However, it did not stop the rapper from spewing his hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric. In the Drink Champs podcast this week, Kanye West said: "The thing about it being Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they cannot drop me... Now what?"
Big Names Might Not Do Business With Kanye West, Too
In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel urged Apple and Spotify not to collaborate with Kanye West.
"West is not just any person-he is a pop culture icon with millions of fans around the world... And among them are young people whose views are still being formed. This is why it is necessary for all of us to speak out," Emanuel said.
"Hatred and antisemitism should have no place in our society, no matter how much money is at stake," he added.
Emanuel praised his clients, LeBron James and Maverick Carter, for deciding not to show Kanye West's allegedly offensive interview on "The Shop."
READ MORE: Kanye West Says Joe Biden Is F***ing Retarded for Not Meeting With Elon Musk and Taking His Advice
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Balenciaga Has Cut Ties With Kanye West - From E! News
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