Adidas is launching an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Kanye West, including claims that he showed pornography and explicit images of Kim Kardashian to staff members.
The German sportswear giant, which ended its partnership with the rapper last month, he said he received an anonymous letter containing several allegations against the rapper.
The independent investigation follows a report by Rolling Stone that claims Kanye used pornography, bullying and “mind games” to control staff.
Citing interviews with more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas employees, the magazine detailed allegations that West showed pornography to Yeezy staff during meetings, discussed pornography and showed an intimate photograph of Kim Kardashian in job interviews and showed explicit video and photos of Kardashian as well as her sex tapes to members of the Yeezy team.
In an alleged 2017 incident, Kanye is accused of yelling “I want you to make me a shoe I can fuck” at an elderly female employee after she claimed the Yeezy sneakers he was inspecting weren’t up to standard.
The woman, who asked not to be named and declined to comment on the article, is said to have taken time off before moving elsewhere at Adidas.
According to the magazine, it’s these former team members who sent the anonymous letter to Adidas, accusing the company’s senior executives of turning a “blind eye” to Kanye’s behavior and saying they “switched off their moral compass.” .
The letter is also intended to draw attention to the “toxic and chaotic environment” they say Kanye has created, as well as “a very sick pattern of predatory behavior towards women.”
An Adidas spokesperson told Reuters: “It is currently unclear whether the allegations made in an anonymous letter are true. However, we take these allegations very seriously and have made the decision to immediately launch an independent investigation into the matter to face the charges.”
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Earlier in the week, one of Adidas’ largest shareholders, Union Investment, wrote to the company asking for more information on the claims and when the internal allegations were first raised with management.
West’s Yeezy fashion brand was initially a collaboration that launched with Nike in 2009, but moved to Adidas in 2013. At the time, Kanye said the move was due to a copyright dispute.
West has previously spoken publicly about suffering from an “addiction to pornography,” saying it “destroyed my family.”
He split from Kim Kardashian after six years of marriage. She is also the mother of her four children.
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The rapper recently faced backlash in the aftermath anti-Semitic comments on social mediaresulting in his agent letting him go, as well as his bank JP Morgan cutting ties.
Brands such as Balenciaga, Foot Locker and Gap also stopped working with the musician.
Meanwhile, West has announced that he will run for the 2024 US presidential election and has asked Donald Trump to be his running mate.
West too he ran for the position in 2020but he only made it to the presidential ballot in a handful of states due to a combination of missed deadlines and a lack of signatures.
Kanye West has been contacted for comment.
