The Flashing Lights rapper reportedly drew a swastika in his first meeting with the athletic brand in 2013 - only one year prior to tying the knot with Kim Kardashian, according to a new report by the New York Times.
Multiple former workers allege the Adidas board met with the rapper at their headquarters in Germany to begin “pitching ideas for the first shoe” when the disgraced star became irritated with their designs.
“The Adidas employees, thrilled to get started, had arrayed sneakers and fabric swatches on a long table near a mood board pinned with images,” the report alleged. “But nothing they showed that day at the company’s German headquarters captured the vision Mr. West had shared.”
“To convey how offensive he considered the designs, he grabbed a sketch of a shoe and took a marker to the toe,” two employees told the outlet. “Then he drew a swastika.”
A view of the Adidas store in Soho where Kanye West Adidas Originals "Yeezy Boost" sneakers can be seen on display in the window. Photo / Getty Images
The reported move shocked the people in the room, especially due to the fact that they “were meeting just miles from Nuremberg, where leaders of the Third Reich were tried for crimes against humanity.”
However, the alleged incident was just the beginning of many anti-Semitic and sexually offensive things West would reportedly say throughout his nearly 10-year relationship with the brand, according to the NYT.
Sources told the publication that several years later, West reportedly “advised a Jewish Adidas manager to kiss a picture of Hitler every day”.
He also is said to have told some Adidas employees that he thought Hitler was a “master marketer” and that he really “admired” his “command of propaganda”.
Later on in 2018, he allegedly confessed to giving a former Yeezy chief executive a seven-figure settlement payment after they “accused him of repeatedly praising the architect of the Holocaust”.
Kanye West storms off a podcast set. Photo / Getty Images
It was during that time that he reportedly wanted the title of his next album to be “Hitler” — however, he ultimately decided to name it “Ye” instead, according to past reports.
However, despite all of his past problematic and erratic behaviour, the company maintained a partnership with the rapper as they saw their profit margins continue to not only rise, but skyrocket.
In fact, the brand reportedly turned a blind eye to his misconduct and instead agreed to triple West’s guaranteed annual salary while in contract negotiations back in 2016.
While Adidas did include a morals clause in the contract, they didn’t invoke it until last year.
Kanye West and Bianca Censori are seen on May 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo / Getty Images
The sportswear label cut ties with the Stronger rapper at the end of 2022 after he went on a number of anti-Semitic rants on social media.
Weeks before the comments were made, Adidas had announced that its partnership with the Yeezy designer was “under review” after he repeatedly donned a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt.
After axing their deal with the rapper, West’s net worth plummeted by $US1.1 billion (NZ$1.9b).
Other fashion brands such as Gap, Balenciaga and Vogue also ended their business dealings with him.
Adidas said in a statement shared with the NYT that they have “no tolerance for hate speech and offensive behaviour, which is why the company terminated the Adidas Yeezy partnership.”
Representatives for West did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
