Adidas has reached an out-of-court settlement with Kanye West nearly two years after it cut ties with the rapper amid scandal sparked in part by his antisemitic rants.
Bjørn Gulden, CEO of the German-based sportswear company, revealed the news in a conference call with several media outlets on Tuesday, telling reporters that neither party will walk away with any money.
“Both parties said we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all the claims,” Gulden said. “No one owes anybody anything anymore. So whatever was is history.”
While the sportswear boss did not specifically address Ye’s past controversial remarks, he did acknowledge “tensions” and “many issues,” which he said have since been resolved.
“We don’t need to fight anymore,” Gulden emphasized.
Adidas ended its partnership with the 47-year-old rap mogul in October 2022, after West sparked backlash with a series of internet tirades targeting the Jewish community. He was briefly booted from X, formerly known as Twitter, around that same time for a rant about how he wanted to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.”
“The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also,” he said in a series of posts that have since been deleted. “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
West went on to double down in several interviews, during which he accused wealthy Jews of controlling the media and manipulating prominent Black celebrities and athletes.
“I like Hitler,” he said while speaking with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The “Jesus Walks” rapper also faced criticism for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt and for claiming that George Floyd, a Black man killed during a confrontation with police, died from using fentanyl.
After parting ways with West, Adidas still had approximately $1.3 billion of unsold Yeezy shoes and merchandise. In 2023, the company started clearing out his products, with Gulden vowing to donate the proceeds to “the organizations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said,” including the Anti-Defamation League and a nonprofit founded by George Floyd’s brother.