Kanye West slams Adidas for releasing ‘fake’ Yeezys without his consent, accuses brand of trying to ‘rape your favorite artist’ and suing him for $250m – one year after partnership was terminated over his anti-Semitism

Kanye West has condemned Adidas for releasing new ‘fake’ Yeezys without his permission – more than a year after the brand cut ties with the rapper over his anti-Semitic outbursts.

West, 46, has accused Adidas of “trying to rape your favorite artist” after the brand announced it would begin a “further release of YEEZY inventory” using their remaining inventory, including 2022 products.

The musician claimed that the sneakers branded by the company were fake and that Adidas sued him for “$250 million.”

In a vitriolic Instagram video, West said, “Not only are they putting out fake colors, they’re suing me for $250 million and they’re not paying me either – for shoes they put out that have my name on them.

“And they use contract clauses and fifty years of business experience to rape an artist, one of your favorite artists, right in front of all of you in broad daylight.”

He also shared a post of the Adidas Yeezy sneakers, writing, “Anyone who loves Ye wouldn’t buy these fake Yeezys.

‘I never made these colors, I don’t get paid for them and Adidas is suing me. All these celebrities and the public will oppose a T-shirt or the color of my hat, but if y’all see me, have my children hidden from me or see how a real Fortune 500 company is one of your heroes in real life raped. No one says or does anything.

‘As far as the system is concerned, what are you going to do now? Get my album out again. Freeze my accounts again. Threaten people to stop working with me. All new non-approved 350s are cooorny.”

DailyMail.com has contacted Adidas representatives for comment.

Adidas has made donations to the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

Shoes sold directly by Adidas in North America featured blue square pins established by the Robert Kraft Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism as a symbol of solidarity in rejecting anti-Semitism.

The company has accompanied the sale with donations to groups that combat anti-Semitism and other forms of hate.

Adidas has made donations to the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

In October 2022, West was dropped by Adidas following backlash over his anti-Semitic rant.

The rapper’s $220 million annual deal with the German sports brand, which was worth a total of $1.5 billion, was terminated following his controversial behavior in which he vowed to carry out “death con 3 on Jewish people.”

According to Forbes, West would lose his billionaire status after cutting ties with the sportswear giant.

Adidas announced in a statement that they would end their partnership, with the sportswear maker reviewing its deal with Ye.

They claim that they made repeated attempts earlier that month “to resolve the situation privately.”

It came days after Kanye claimed on a podcast that the sneaker giant “can’t drop him” despite him saying “anti-Semitic things.”

In a statement, Adidas said: “Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech.

“Your recent comments and actions are unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the Company’s values ​​of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

The company also claimed that cutting ties with the rapper is likely to have a “negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net revenues in 2022.”

The collaboration began in 2013, after partnering with Nike, and was expected to last a decade in production.

Before he was dumped by the brand, Kanye began publicly sparring with Adidas executives, accusing them of “stealing” his ideas.

West owns the Yeezy brand, but Adidas pays him an annual royalty fee to sell the products.

Adidas, whose founder Adi Dassler belonged to the Nazi Party, came under increasing pressure to drop Kanye after several anti-Semitic comments.

Experts have also claimed that the resale market for Yeezys will explode because they will no longer be produced in large quantities.

Adidas poached Kanye from rival Nike Inc in 2013 and agreed to a new long-term partnership in 2016 in what the company then called “the most significant collaboration between a non-athlete and a sports brand.”

The collaboration has produced several popular Yeezy-branded Adidas sneakers that can cost anywhere from $200 to $700. The partnership also helped the German brand close the gap with Nike in the US market.

Yeezy generates about 1.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in annual sales for Adidas, accounting for just over 7 percent of the company’s total sales, according to Telsey Advisory Group estimates.

Shares of the company, which last week lowered its full-year guidance, fell about 3 percent on the report amid the controversy over Ye.