After enduring several years of legal conflicts, Adidas has finalized an amicable out-of-court resolution with Kanye West, who is now known as Ye, without any financial transactions involved.
"There are no outstanding issues, and no money is being exchanged," stated Bjorn Gulden, the CEO of Adidas, during a press conference on Tuesday, while refraining from disclosing specifics about the settlement.
"While there were tensions on various matters, both parties agreed that further conflict was unnecessary," Gulden continued. "No one owes anything to anyone anymore. Whatever happened is now in the past."
Adidas and West began their partnership in 2014 after his departure from Nike, leading to one of the most lucrative collaborations in the sportswear industry, which significantly contributed to West's rise to billionaire status.
However, the relationship soured in October 2022 when Adidas severed ties with West due to his antisemitic remarks, which the company deemed "unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous."
During that period, the 24-time Grammy-winning artist, who has been open about his mental health struggles, expressed admiration for Hitler and the Nazis in an interview with far-right radio host Alex Jones, alongside making several antisemitic comments on X (formerly Twitter).
The decision to part ways left Adidas with €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) worth of Yeezy sneakers in storage. The company opted to sell some of the remaining inventory in batches, with two releases last year and another earlier this year, while pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds to anti-hate organizations.
From the €300 million profit generated from Yeezy shoe sales last year, Adidas reported that it has donated or plans to donate over €140 million (approximately $152 million).
The company anticipates that all Yeezy stock will be sold by the end of 2024.