It seems like the CEO of the German sportswear company, Adidas, has no hard feelings against American rapper, Kanye West.
Sitting down with the philanthropist Nicolai Tangen for an interview on the podcast called ‘In Good Company’, Bjorn Gulden was talking about the clothing brand’s partnership with the Donda rapper and how its Yeezy collaboration fell apart after the musician made a series of remarks which were deemed antisemitic.
He said Ye is one of the of the most creative people in the world, both in music and street culture. He made it clear that the fallout happened before he was appointed CEO of Adidas, but also mentioned that the company’s fall out with the artist was “very sad” because it meant that the retailer “lost that business.”
The businessman added by saying: “I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person – it just came across that way.”
The Guardian reported that Yeezy line generated £1.3 billion (about R30 billion) in 2021, 7% of Adidas’ overall annual revenue. After cutting ties with West, Adidas saw a £350 million (approximately R8 billion) drop in sales in the first quarter of 2023, in a year-on-year comparison with 2022.
Last year in October, Ye wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people.”
Main Image: CTV News