On Tuesday, Kanye West made headlines for his controversial comments on slavery, claiming the hundreds of years of captivity and resistance to be a choice.
Although West took to Twitter to clarify his statement, most were not convinced. As a result, many banned together to get West all the way out of here. Not only has the rapper been “canceled” on social media, but several have signed a petition to convince Adidas to sever business ties with the Yeezy Brand boss.
“While Kanye can live safely in his multimillion-dollar castle, the rest of black America is continually marginalized and subject to unjust laws and treatment. Some even die because this behavior is so ingrained in our society,” the Care2 petition read. “Kanye West has a right to free speech, and he has the right to spout lies and misinformation and misplaced opinions – but we as consumers have the right to fight back against this type of dangerous propaganda.”
“The German apparel company may wish to rethink their lucrative deal with West after his jaw-dropping outburst,” the petition read, as about 7,500 out of 10,000 people joined the fight against West, “Tell the world [Adidas does] not want anything to do with anyone who believes that millions of Africans chose to toil the fields in bondage.”
Meanwhile, Adidas AG Chief Executive Officer Kasper Rorsted has since distanced himself from Kanye West’s statements however said the company has not discussed dropping the rapper as a designer.
“There clearly are some comments we don’t support,” Rorsted said on a call with analysts. The company plans to talk with West about the matter, he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
West is very important to the German sportswear maker’s strategy, the CEO said in the interview after the company reported quarterly sales, highlighting the tricky balance companies have to strike when their celebrity brand ambassadors veer off the script.
