Rapper Kanye West Accuses Adidas of Misusing His Brand and Doling Out Fake Yeezys

Kanye West , also known as Ye, has once more criticized Adidas for moving forward with releasing what he deems to be “fake” Yeezy 350s, asserting that they are an unauthorized design. In a recent Instagram video, West openly accused Adidas of this action. He said that they are “using contract clauses and 50 years of business experience to rape an artist.” The Daily Beast reported that he also alleged the company is suing him for $250 million. West took to Instagram to publicly criticize his former business partner while also urging for a boycott .

In the video, he said, “Let me explain really clear to you guys what’s happening with Adidas. Not only are they putting out fake colorways that are non-approved, they’re suing me for $250 million, and they’re also not paying me for these shoes that they’re putting out that have my name on it. And they’re using contract clauses and 50 years of business experience to rape an artist, one of y’all favorite artists, right in front of y’all in broad daylight.” Furthermore, he shared a separate post displaying the Yeezy 350s that Adidas is currently selling. Along with the screenshot of the footwear, he wrote an extensive caption.

West wrote, “Anybody who loves Ye would not buy these fake Yeezys I never made these color ways I’m not getting paid off of them and adidas is suing me. … All the new non approved 350’s are cooorny.” His comments followed Adidas’ announcement on Monday that they would be selling off the remaining Yeezy inventory. This posed a dilemma for the company after parting ways with West in 2022 due to his series of hate speech and antisemitic remarks. Adidas has stated that since ending their partnership , they have contributed some proceeds from these sales to organizations dedicated to fighting discrimination and hate, according to Billboard .

West’s accusation against Adidas, comparing it to “rape,” is not a new thing. In 2022, shortly after the clothing giant declared its intention to reassess its partnership with West, he made a post. He wrote, “FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.” However, in an announcement, Adidas said, “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership.” In the past year, Adidas earned $813 million from two distinct releases of Yeezy inventory after ending its partnership with West.

There seemed to be a potential path to reconciliation between West and Adidas after the rapper was seen meeting with the company’s CEO, Bjorn Gulden, last week. However, it appears that reconciliation is no longer on the table. Meanwhile, as reported by Business Insider , Adidas stated earlier this month that they have approximately $300 million worth of Yeezy stock remaining. The majority of the proceeds from the sale of this stock would be allocated to various charities, including the Anti- Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, according to Adidas. However, there is currently no evidence to suggest that Adidas has initiated any new legal action against West or his companies.