Kanye West and Adidas have settled their lengthy legal dispute that began when the company severed ties with the rapper in 2022 due to his anti-Semitic comments.
On October 29, a report from Reuters revealed that both parties reached an out-of-court settlement that resolves all ongoing cases between them.
“Both parties agreed that we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all claims,” said company CEO Bjørn Gulden during a conference call, according to Complex. “The agreement didn’t involve any payments. No one owes anything to anyone anymore, so whatever was is now history. There were tensions on many issues, and when you evaluate the claims on both sides, both parties decided to end the conflict.”
This settlement comes nearly two years after Kanye West was dropped by Adidas.
On October 25, 2022, the German sportswear company announced its decision to terminate its profitable partnership with Kanye, citing his anti-Semitic remarks.
“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any form of hate speech,” the statement read. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, violating the company’s values of diversity, inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.”
The statement went on to explain that after a thorough review, Adidas decided to immediately end its partnership with Ye, halt production of Yeezy-branded products, and cease all payments to him and his companies. The company confirmed that it would discontinue the Adidas Yeezy business immediately.
Additionally, it stated, “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be provided as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9, 2022.”
