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Adidas caves to pressure, ends partnership with Kanye West over vile antisemitism

Adidas shares fell as much as 3.2% in Frankfurt trading, reaching the lowest since April 2016, according to Bloomberg.

By World Israel News Staff

German sportswear giant Adidas has decided to end its partnership with controversial rapper Kanye West, who in recent weeks has been spouting vile antisemitism, Bloomberg reported Tuesday morning.

The decision could be announced as early as Tuesday, the report said, citing sources who asked to remain anonymous, saying the discussions were private.

A company representative did not respond to the business site’s request for comment.

West had already been dropped by Gap and Kering SA, as well as by his talent agency and MRC Studios, over his antisemitic tirades.

Adidas shares fell as much as 3.2% in Frankfurt trading, reaching the lowest since April 2016, according to Bloomberg.

“The Adidas decision follows weeks of deliberations inside the company, which over the past decade has built the Yeezy line — together with Ye — into a brand that’s accounted for as much as 8% of Adidas’s total sales, according to several estimates from Wall Street analysts,” the site reported.

Adidas believes it owns the intellectual property to the products from the collaboration with West and could therefore continue producing the models, according to one of the company’s anonymous sources.