Much of the news surrounding rapper/business mogul Kanye West over the past several years has been less than positive, but in just the past month or so, those reports have gone from bad to worse, as the “Donda” songwriter has made a number of controversial statements that have resulted in him losing some of his business partnerships. Now, former staffers who worked with Adidas during its collaboration with his Yeezy brand have called him “chaotic” and “predacious” while a number of new allegations have come to light.
What Did Yeezy Staff Say About Working With Kanye West At Adidas?
According to Rolling Stone, a number of former high-ranking employees who had worked for Yeezy while the company was in partnership with Adidas sent an open letter (titled “The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership”) to the executive board and new CEO at the popular sportswear brand on Tuesday night, which asked them to do something about “the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created” and “a very sick pattern of predacious behavior toward women.” The letter also stated:
He has, in years past, exploded at women in the room with offensive remarks, and would resort to sexually disturbing references when providing design feedback. This type of response from a brand partner is one that Adidas employees should never be subjected to, nor should Adidas leadership ever tolerate.
Over two dozen former employees who worked for both Adidas and Yeezy spoke to the outlet and reported a number of instances of disturbing behavior that they say was instigated by Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband, which happened over the course of a decade while the companies were still in business together. They describe an “abusive” workplace that was “inappropriate, and honestly and HR nightmare,” which was filled with “chaos,” left everyone in fear for their jobs, and worked a lot like his interactions with the public on his social media.
Among the many claims made by the former employees, it was reported that the “Gold Digger” rapper was known to show workers his own sex tapes, as well as playing an explicit video and showing intimate photos of the SKIMS founder, with such explicit pictures of Kardashian also being part of his process during job interviews. He is also alleged to have talked about porn when interviewing prospective employees, and it’s also been reported that he would actually play explicit videos during Yeezy staff meetings.
Former staffers allege that there was an unwritten rule from higher ups at Adidas during its collaboration with the Grammy winner, which was basically that “Kanye is just Kanye” as a way to attempt to diminish or disregard the importance of what employees supposedly went through while working with him. The letter continued, and noted in part that leadership at the apparel brand “failed to provide” workers with the necessary “responsibility, accountability, and protection” for “years of verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks.”
Adidas cut ties with the star in late October (Yeezy had collaborated there since 2013) after he made a number of anti-Semitic comments. He’s also been embroiled in controversy over wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt and mocking a beloved fashion editor, and his words about Jewish people, particularly, have inspired a number of companies (in addition to his recently hired lawyer) to call it quits on partnerships with him. While he ended his relationship with GAP back in September, the following month saw Vogue CEO Anna Wintour, high fashion house Balenciaga, and other companies cut ties with him, which he’s said is proving his point in several of the comments he’s made.
A spokesperson for Adidas responded to questions on the many allegations against company leadership only by offering a statement that noted the organization wouldn’t “discuss private conversations, details, or events” which caused them to leave their collaboration with the fashion designer behind. But, there will likely be more on these new claims against him from one of the many parties involved before long.
