Adidas shareholders have filed a class action lawsuit over Kanye West’s retail brand, Yeezy.
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According to NBC News, the shareholders argued that the execs knew about West’s—also known as Ye—problematic behavior before they pulled their partnership with Yeezy. They ended the collaboration after Ye shared antisemitic comments.
The lawsuit declares that Adidas failed to notify the investors about Ye’s “extreme behavior.”
The charge claims Adidas’ former chief executive officer, Kasper Rorsted, and chief financial officer, Harm Ohlmeyer, “intended to deceive” shareholders and “acted with reckless disregard for the truth.”
“We outright reject these unfounded claims,” the company issued in a statement. “Will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them.”
The lawsuit was filed on Friday, April 28, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Adidas’ North American headquarters is located in Portland, Oregon.
The report declares that executives of the German company “ignored serious issues” regarding Ye’s behavior as early as 2018. During that time, the company contemplated ending their partnership after Ye spoke about slavery in a TMZ interview and said, “Sounds like a choice.”
The lawsuit also stated that Adidas “failed to take meaningful precautionary measures to limit negative financial exposure.”
The sportswear brand officially parted ways from Ye in October 2022, when he made a public appearance in a White Lives Matter shirt. In multiple interviews and on social media, Ye shared antisemitic comments and conspiracy theories.
Instagram removed Ye from the platform for violating the app’s policies, after he shared a conversation with Sean “Diddy” Combs that displayed discrimination against American Jewish Communities. Shortly after, he was locked out of Twitter for tweeting, “death con three on Jewish people.”
Despite his actions, the report confirmed that Ye had a “positive impact on the company”
“The Yeezy shoes were extremely popular,” read the court document. “By 2019, sales of Yeezy shoes hit over $1 billion. Further, Kanye West accumulated significant wealth as a result of the Partnership. By September 2019, Forbes ranked him as the Number 1 highest-paid hip-hop star, largely as a result of the Partnership.”
Ye has yet to comment on the class action lawsuit.
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