Kanye West has been accused of using 'intimidation tactics' by former Yeezy and Adidas employees, including playing his own sex tapes during staff meetings.
Last month, Adidas announced it was cutting ties with the rapper after he made a number of antisemitic comments, including that he was going to go 'death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE'.
But in the days that followed, more than two dozen former staff members and collaborators for Yeezy and Adidas have spoken to Rolling Stone about what they describe as an abusive and often sexualised working culture.
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Other than Pete Fox, who was the president of Yeezy in 2016, the accusers asked the publication not to be named to protect their identities.
Their claims paint a shocking picture of an environment of fear and manipulation that was created by West – who this week announced his plans on running for US president in the 2024 election – and reportedly ignored by execs.
Among the allegations, the rapper is accused of playing pornography to employees during Yeezy meetings and showing an intimate photo of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian during a job interview.
Other former workers allege he played them an explicit video of Kardashian as well as his own sex tapes.
Several of those who have spoken out have since sent a letter, obtained by Rolling Stone, to Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted and other high-ranking execs.
The message, sent last night (22 November), features a call to action, demanding that the sports brand addresses 'the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created', which includes a 'sick pattern of predacious behavior toward women'.
It continues: "He has, in years past, exploded at women in the room with offensive remarks, and would resort to sexually disturbing references when providing design feedback.
"This type of response from a brand partner is one that Adidas employees should never be subjected to, nor should Adidas leadership ever tolerate."
The writers claim that the firm failed to provide its employees 'responsibility, accountability, and protection' throughout 'what we experienced as years of verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks'.
One of West's earlier Adidas collaborators told the outlet that he showed them a video of 'Francesca Le, a buff porn star with a strap-on dildo f*****g another girl in the a**'.
"He’s like, ‘What do you think of it?’ Not laughing at all," they said.
Two other former employees allege that Ye played homemade sex tapes of him sleeping with other women.
Fox went into further detail about Ye's treatment of employees, suggesting it was dependent on how he perceived the individual.
"If he likes you and wants you on the team, he’s super-charming," he said.
"If he didn’t like you or if something happened, he’d fly off the handle and it’d be over."
Adidas told UNILAD in a statement: "Adidas does not tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and therefore has terminated the adidas Yeezy partnership.
"We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with our employees about the events that lead to our decision to end the partnership.
"They have our full support and as we’re working through the details of the termination, we have been clear that we want to keep our employees’ talent and skills within the organization.
"Having said this, we will not discuss private conversations, details or events that lead to our decision to terminate the adidas Yeezy partnership and decline to comment on any related speculation."
UNILAD has contacted reps for Kanye West and Kim Kardashian for comment.
Topics: Kanye West, Fashion, US News, Celebrity
Daisy Phillipson