Kanye Goes On Social Media Tirade Against adidas

Social media and Ye, formerly known as Kanye, West are a force to be reckoned with. When West posts, the world listens. 

What started as a symbiotic relationship between two of the most influential figures in the footwear industry, if not the world, it’s safe to say that what the duo shared has seemingly soured according to a new flourish of posts from Ye on Instagram. 

At this point, we’re used to seeing tirades from West on social media, be it Twitter or Instagram, seeing various posts being taken down as well as the artist receiving partial blocks and privileges revoked such as commenting, posting and sending direct messages as a result of his attack on Pete Davidson earlier this year.

Since 2022’s annual YEEZY Day, there’s appeared to be trouble in the water between adi and Ye leading many to ask, could we be seeing the end of adidas x YEEZY? 

What started as a disgruntled post regarding the recent adidas ‘adilette 22’ which has a striking resemblance to the YEEZY Slide, the resentment towards the Three Stripes has only grown further after YEEY Day, an event in response to Nike’s Air Max Day which, according to Ye, was created against his will. 

Ye started September by posting a fake newspaper headline with the title stating: CEO Kasper Rørsted also dead at 60, reminiscent of the mock-up New York Times article he made regarding Davidson earlier in the year. The post, which has since been taken down, was posted after it was confirmed that Rørsted would be stepping down as adidas' CEO on the 22nd of August after joining the company in 2016.

However, the issues don’t seem to have stopped with adidas, after a post last weekend seemed to suggest that GAP was also in the firing line due to “having meetings about me, without me”, as stated by Ye. 

Following his distaste towards both adidas and GAP, Ye turned his attention toward Senior Vice President and General Manager at adidas, Daniel Cherry III. Cherry, who was appointed at the adidas in January is said to be, at least according to West, taking control of YEEZY without Ye’s consent. 

“Hi my name is DC I was hired by the recently deceased Kasper without YE’s knowledge to run the most culturally influential brand in the world” reads one of many Instagram captions aimed at the SVP. 

Mixed within the various, ongoing, posts aimed at Daniel Cherry, Ye posted images of the adidas’ directing board with a variety of cryptic captions as well as posting an image, which again has since been deleted, of a triple black Martine Rose x Nike Air Monarch. 

Most recently, West has posted asking “What shoe company will give me control”? Before going on to state “I need to be head of the board and the chief decision maker” suggesting that Ye would rather leave adidas and join with a new brand altogether. 

In addition, Ye’s demands to adidas were released, laying out a simple four-part plan of what they needed to provide following the German sportswear brand supposedly offering him a $1 Billion payout, an offer that was also dragged online. 

As quick as the condemnation began, it appears to have wound down. Following his mass tirade against the brand, it appears a deal has been struck between the two, the details of which are currently unknown. Earlier today, Ye began a post by saying: “I could hear the joy in my team's voices today”, suggesting that whatever deal the two had come to it was in West’s favour. 

However, while one storm ends, it appears that another is just on the horizon. The final line of the post reads “now it’s time for GAP” following his earlier statement suggesting that he was being left in the dark regarding certain meetings and decisions that are being made regarding his collaborative work after the partnership only began just over a year ago. 

While West’s posts are usually fairly erratic, with some being deleted and others popping up out of the blue, we have a good indication of when we can expect his attempted deposition of GAP to begin after his lawyers suggested that the Chicagoan “refrain from posting anything on GAP for another 10 days”. 

For better or worse, Kanye West knows how to make his voice heard. Up until now, the narrative surrounding YEEZY has been focused on the sheer number of releases that are arriving from the partnership with adidas, with a general sense of fatigue setting in. Nevertheless, regardless of your stance on the ongoing feud, be it one-sided, between Ye and adi; it does open up an interesting discussion which will almost certainly permeate throughout not only adidas but various other brands and partners they work alongside in regards to how they conduct their business. 

While we await the latest from Ye regarding GAP, why not read some of our other posts on the Kick Game blog?