Kanye West Adidas Partnership Strikes Calls For Boycott

Kanye West has struck a deal with Adidas, which is being described as the most significant partnership ever between an athletic brand and someone who isn’t an athlete. Some sources think this is going to be a huge money-making venture. Pitchfork has the news.

“Adidas + Kanye West will be a ‘YEEZY branded entity creating footwear, apparel and accessories for all genders across street and sport.'”

As Pitchfork notes, Kanye previously teamed up with Adidas for the YEEZY BOOST sneakers, which were claimed to have sold out quickly and now go for a lot of money in the secondary marketplace.

Needless to say, a lot of very vocal people are not happy with this and have taken to social media to express their anger. Forbes even describes why the partnership could be a dangerous one.

“While he may be one of the most famous people on the planet, and his following is certainly dedicated, Kanye West is also a potentially risky investment, and Adidas is definitely taking a chance on the star with this latest endeavor, which is set to be much larger than the previous Yeezy lines that have already gone to market.”

Kanye West’s latest controversial endeavor is a new video for the song “Famous” and it features people like Taylor Swift, Anna Wintour, George W. Bush, and even Rihanna all together in bed naked. Of course, these people weren’t actually there, but digital magic made it seem as if they actually were. According to People, Lena Dunham described the video as “sick” and “disturbing.”

“In a lengthy Facebook post she titled ‘Peeking From Between My Fingers,’ the multi-talented star offered some disjointed thoughts on the ‘Famous’ video. While saying she has no beef with West personally, Dunham strongly objected to the clip and urged the rapper to avoid gender stereotypes and the objectification of women’s bodies.”

Forbes notes that as Kanye has become less commercially viable, he has also become more controversial. Instead of associating Kanye with his music lately, many instead instantly think about his erratic outbursts. When Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV VMAs in 2009, his brand immediately went south and he never fully recovered, although Mr. West has always been seen as a viable force in the music world since the incident.

However, Chief Marketing Officer Eric Liedtke replied to an email from Forbes and indicated that the company is “excited and honored to build on this partnership, and eagerly look forward to defining the future together.”

The Wall Street Journal notes that in an interview, Kanye claimed he wants to get his sneakers on the feet of those in the National Basketball Association and National Football league, even though Adidas added no plans for Kanye’s goals yet. In the same interview, West compared his musical performances to athletics.

Needless to say, many people on Twitter are promising to boycott Adidas over their new partnership with Kanye West.

great -now me my family friends and co workers will boycott everything @adidas we will go back to @Nike #boycottkaynewest

— Dar g (@missdar429) June 30, 2016

As the Inquisitr reported last summer, a Change.org petition, which asked consumers to boycott Adidas due to their limited partnership with West at the time, was spread to various sites. Ironically, only 42 people signed the petition. Perhaps both Kanye West and Adidas have nothing to worry about at all.

[Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images]