While basking in the glow of worldwide acclaim, it is almost inevitable that one will encounter a controversy or two along the way. Kanye West is one such celebrity, who frequently finds himself in the midst of contentious situations. After making a series of controversial remarks, the rapper had to take a pause from the industry to escape from its consequences. However, he could not escape the termination of his deal with the multi-billion-dollar footwear giant, Adidas.

Adidas cut ties with the ‘Donda’ rapper, following his anti-Semitic and white supremacist remarks in the year 2022. A year after the fallout, an investigation shed light on many hidden aspects of his partnership, which included the group therapy sessions Ye’s team had to take.

Working for Kanye West had been stressful for employees

The New York Times recently outlined the demanding work environment under which workers labored to bring Yeezy to life. As per the report, Kanye West was highly critical of the team members’ designs and his offensive statements had a negative effect on them. The weight of stress led them to attend group therapy sessions for support. The company also gave them a subscription to free meditation apps to seek respite amidst the overwhelming pressure.

The report revealed that the $16 billion footwear giant assigned a special human resources officer to the team. Some executives also had an unofficial group called “Yzy Hotline“, where they discussed ways to deal with the ‘Graduation’ rapper. There is a possibility that this report could adversely affect Yeezy sales, which went up to $160 Million last week.

Adidas, who has been selling the leftover Yeezy stock, made a huge profit out of it after selling the latest batch of Yeezy shoes. However, shortly after the revenue profit, they put a pause on the stock releases.

Why did Adidas discontinue selling Yeezy?

Despite ending their partnership, the German footwear company, Adidas, has been selling Kanye West’s brainchild since the end of May. However, very recently, Complex reported an official memo from the company that confirmed the discontinuation of the Yeezy sales for this year. Adidas will not sell Yeezys in any medium, which includes internal e-commerce, retail, and wholesale. This decision could also be a result of his anti-Semitic remarks, as Adidas took this step amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

A few days back, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden went on record defending Ye, and also called him “one of the most creative people in the world.” This did not sit well with fans who expressed their outrage on social media. Adidas, who already burned its hand in the past owing to Ye’s controversies, might not have been eager to take on any more potential liabilities. This led them to put a temporary pause on all the Yeezy releases for 2023.

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