Adidas is launching an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Kanye West, including allegations that he showed pornography and explicit images of Kim Kardashian to staff members.
The German sportswear giant, which ended its partnership with the rapper last month said he received an anonymous letter containing several allegations against the rapper.
The independent investigation follows a Rolling Stone report claiming Kanye used pornography, bullying and “mind games” to control staff.
Citing interviews with more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas staffers, the magazine detailed allegations that West played pornography to Yeezy staff at meetings, discussed pornography and showed a intimate photo of Kim Kardashian during job interviews, and shown explicit video and photos of Kardashian. as well as his own sex tapes to members of the Yeezy team.
In an alleged incident in 2017, Kanye is accused of shouting “I want you to make me a shoe that I can fuck” at a senior employee after claiming that the Yeezy sneakers he was inspecting were not up to standard .
The woman, who asked not to be named and declined to comment on the article, is said to have taken time off before moving elsewhere at Adidas.
According to the magazine, it was these former team members who sent the anonymous letter to Adidas, accusing the company’s top executives of “turning a blind eye” to Kanye’s behavior and saying they “had extinguishes their moral compass”.
The letter is also meant to draw attention to the “toxic and chaotic environment” they say was created by Kanye, as well as “a very sick pattern of predatory behavior towards women.”
An Adidas spokesperson told Reuters: “It is currently unclear whether the accusations made in an anonymous letter are true. However, we take these allegations very seriously and have decided to immediately launch an investigation. independent on the case to respond to the allegations.”
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Earlier in the week, one of Adidas’ major shareholders, Union Investment, wrote to the company asking for more information about the claims and when the internal allegations were first raised with of management.
West’s fashion brand, Yeezy, was initially a collaboration launched with Nike in 2009, but moved to Adidas in 2013. At the time, Kanye said the move was due to a royalty dispute.
West has previously spoken publicly about suffering from “pornography addiction”, saying it “destroyed my family”.
He separated from Kim Kardashian after six years of marriage. She is also the mother of her four children.
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The rapper recently faced backlash following antisemitic comments on social networkswhich led to his agent letting him and his bank JP Morgan go, cutting ties.
Brands such as Balenciaga, Foot Locker and Gap have also ended their partnerships with the musician.
Meanwhile, West announced he would run for the 2024 US presidential election and asked Donald Trump to be his running mate.
west too ran for election in 2020but only reached the presidential ballot in a handful of states due to a combination of missed deadlines and a lack of signatures.
Kanye West was approached for comment.
