Adidas doesn't agree with what Kanye West says, but it still won't stop selling Yeezys

By Sam Barsanti | May 3, 2018 | 8:15pm

Aux Features Music

Kanye West has been on a bizarre tear lately, actively and loudly rejecting anyone and anything who tries to tell him what he can and cannot (or at least should not) do. This has resulted in him repeatedly declaring that Donald Trump is pretty cool, sharing a bizarre new song, and suggesting on TMZ that slavery was a “choice.” It’s the kind of behavior that tends to drive away sponsors, but much like how nobody can tell Kanye West what to do anymore, the same apparently goes for the people who put his name on products. According to Bloomberg, Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted has stated that he and his company “don’t support” some of the things Kanye West has been saying, but there have apparently no discussions about dropping him or his pricey Yeezy shoes.

The Bloomberg story notes that Yeezy products don’t necessarily translate to a lot of sales, since they’re only available in limited runs or at specific stores, but they’re very important for “brand heat.” In fact, Adidas was able to surpass Nike’s Air Jordan brand last year because of “brand heat” on things like Yeezys. This strategy is probably why the shoe company isn’t actually that concerned about what Kanye West does, since Yeezys will be a big deal no matter what West says or does, just as long as he says or does something—which we can all definitely count on.