Adidas cuts ties with Kanye West over anti-Semitic remarks

Kanye West's partnership with Adidas helped him become a billionaire

German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday it was ending its partnership with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial rapper.

Recent comments by West -- known formally as Ye -- were "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous", Adidas said in a statement. 

Adidas said it would "end production" of the highly successful "Yeezy" line designed together with West and "stop all payments to Ye and his companies".

Adidas's decision to dump the artist was "overdue", said Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

- T-shirt statement -

The phrase is a dog whistle to right-wing groups in the United States and a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Comments made by West "violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness", Adidas said Tuesday.

Along with Beyonce, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, West's has been one of the top names used by Adidas to boost sales, especially online.

One of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, CAA, also said Monday it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist.

Adidas's decision would stop West from "using the company's immense platform to amplify his hateful ideology about Jews", the World Jewish Congress said in a statement.

Rights campaigners and entertainment world figures had heaped pressure on Adidas to stop working with the rapper.

"There should be no tolerance anywhere for West's anti-Semitism."

"Hate speech is never OK or excusable," she wrote on Twitter and Instagram on Monday.

Adidas fell sharply on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following its announcement, with shares down almost eight percent at 95.88 euros in afternoon trading.

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Originally published as Adidas cuts ties with Kanye West over anti-Semitic remarks