"Showed Porn to Employee"... Adidas Cuts Ties, Launches Investigation into US Hip-Hop Star Ye

American hip-hop star Ye (formerly Kanye West)
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Global sports brand Adidas announced on the 24th (local time) that it has received allegations that American hip-hop star Ye (formerly Kanye West), who severed ties with the company over anti-Semitic remarks, has engaged in inappropriate behavior for years, including showing sexual videos to employees during meetings, and that it will launch an investigation into the matter.

According to Bloomberg News and others, Adidas stated that it received an anonymous letter containing these allegations on the same day and announced that it would begin an investigation. The letter claimed that Ye committed multiple inappropriate acts during his collaboration with Adidas, and although employees raised concerns, the management ignored them.

Adidas’s announcement to start an investigation came after the U.S. music magazine Rolling Stone recently reported on Ye’s inappropriate behavior, prompting shareholders to demand a clear stance on the issue.

Rolling Stone reported, citing former Adidas employees, that Ye showed employees pornographic material and secret photos of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, who is a model and broadcaster, during meetings. Rolling Stone pointed out that the whistleblower, a former Adidas employee, sent an anonymous letter to the company raising the issue, and although management was aware of Ye’s misconduct, no separate measures were taken, ultimately leaving employees unprotected.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) also reported that former employees said Ye attempted to fire employees without authority and verbally abused staff in front of colleagues.

Following the reports, Union Investment, Germany’s third-largest asset management company and one of the top 20 shareholders holding a 1% stake in Adidas, demanded an explanation from Adidas. Union Investment insisted, "Adidas must disclose when the management and board first became aware of these internal issues."

Adidas stated, "The truth of the issues raised in the anonymous letter is currently unclear. However, the company takes these allegations very seriously and has decided to immediately start an investigation to resolve the matter."

Earlier, on the 25th of last month, Adidas declared the termination of its relationship with Ye, with whom it had collaborated since 2013. This action was taken following Ye’s anti-Semitic remarks. Adidas decided to halt production of products co-branded with Ye’s shoe and apparel brand 'Yeezy.' It was estimated that Adidas earned approximately $2 billion (about 2.7 trillion KRW) annually from collaborations with Ye.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.