Kanye West is urging his fans not to buy Adidas’ latest Yeezy products after the company announced it will resume selling what remains of its stockpile of Yeezy sneakers.
In an Instagram post shared on Monday (Feb. 26), Ye spoke out about the news and accused the footwear giant of using their business expertise to “rape” him.
“Anybody who loves Ye would not buy these fake Yeezys. I never made these colorways, I’m not getting paid off of them, and Adidas is suing me. All these celebrities and the public will stand against a T-shirt or the color of my hat, but when y’all see me have my children hidden from me or see an actual Fortune 500 company rape one of your heroes in real life, don’t nobody say nothing or do nothing.”
West continued, “As far as the system goes, what y’all gon’ do now? Take my album down again? Freeze my accounts again? Threaten people to not work with me again? All the new non-approved 350s are [corny], and everybody [knows] the 350 [has always] been corny.”
Ye continued to express his disapproval in a video shared on IG.
“Let me explain really clear to you guys what’s happening with Adidas,” Ye began. “Not only are they putting out fake colorways that are not approved, they’re suing me for $250 million and they’re also not paying me for these shoes that they’re putting out that have my name on it. And they’re using contract clauses and 50 years of business experience to rape an artist. One of y’all favorite artists right in front of y’all in broad daylight.”
Ye’s remarks received online support from some of his friends and colleagues, including the likes of Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Justinlaboy and Ty Dolla $ign.
“Speak ya truth,” Snoop wrote in a comment on West’s Instagram video, while Timbaland simply commented, “Speak!!!!”
Adidas severed ties with West back in October of 2022 after the Vultures rapper made a series of anti-Semitic comments.
“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.”
The company initially indicated it was considering giving away the shoes or removing the Yeezy branding altogether. However, the company later announced in May, 2023 it would resume selling its remaining Yeezy’s because of the massive backlog they had accrued.
“Today Adidas began a further release of Yeezy inventory with a range of existing products being available in phases over the coming weeks across the world,” wrote the company in a press release on Monday.
The products will be exclusively available through Adidas digital platforms including the Confirmed app, Adidas app and adidas.com.”
The first shoe available for sale is the Yeezy Boost 350 in ‘steel’ gray, priced at $230. To purchase, customers must enter a raffle. The deadline to enter is February 29, and winners will be notified to complete their purchase.
