Shoe giant Adidas has announced that it will follow up on anonymous complaints by staff about alleged workplace misconduct by rapper Kanye West. The father of four has been embroiled in some controversy over the past few months from social media harassment of his wife, Kim Kardashian, and her anti-semitic remarks.
Following the rapper’s social media posts criticizing Jews, several brands affiliated with West withdrew their support of him. Brands such as Gap, Balenciaga and Adidas all announced that their contracts with the artist had been cancelled.
The latest controversy surrounding West was created by the staff of his previous partner, Adidas. According to reports, the rapper displayed inappropriate behavior at work, including sexual comments and showing graphic images of employees.
Read on to learn more.
Adidas Will Investigate Allegations of Workplace Misconduct Against Kanye West
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Following up on the report made by Rolling stones detailing the experiences of unnamed Adidas employees at the hands of the West, the sportswear giant announced its intention to conduct an investigation. According to a statement issued on the matter, Adidas admitted that the accusation may not be true; however, they need to be taken seriously.
In a post released Thursday, the brand wrote, “At this time it is unclear whether the allegations made in the anonymous letter are true. However, we take this allegation seriously and have decided to launch an independent investigation into the matter immediately to address the allegation.”
In a report Tuesday by Rolling stonesWest is accused of exhibiting provocative, overtly sexual and intimidating behavior towards Adidas employees, particularly women.
Kanye West Accused of Workplace Misconduct
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The news outlet reportedly interviewed more than two dozen former employees at Adidas and Yeezy, the rapper’s fashion brand. They claimed that over a decade, West had displayed a number of disruptive and “problematic” behaviors in front of staff.
West is accused of creating a toxic and abusive work culture that scares away workers. The former staff allege that the rapper’s actions included showing them explicit photos of his wife, Kardashian, and other pornographic posts.
A young creative said that during a 2018 job interview, the rapper showed him an explicit photo of his wife and said, “My wife just sent me this.” A different employee recalled when West allegedly showed the creative team an erotic video of the reality star that same year.
Kanye West Uses Explicit Language To Employees
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Rolling stones detailing an alleged incident in August 2017 when West was disappointed with the quality of a pair of his Yeezys. The rapper allegedly walked up to a senior female employee and said, “I want you to make me shoes that I can fuck.” He was reportedly not confronted about his remarks by Adidas executives who were present, and the employee took a leave of absence shortly thereafter.
According to former staffers, this isn’t the only time the rapper has used sexual terms to describe how he wants his products to be designed. “Not a sex game shoe but something you’re interested in that you want to be intimate with,” they recalled West saying. “He would, like, ‘literally f*ck.’ He will be very clear about what he means.”
Adidas Accused of Negligence
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In a post titled “The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership,” Adidas’ CEO and executive board members were asked to address the “toxic and chaotic environment created by Kanye West.” Adidas has also been asked to speak out about “a very hurtful pattern of predatory behavior towards women” it works with.
Adidas leadership was accused of having little or no response to the West’s actions. According to its staff, the brand is well aware of the designer’s alleged unacceptable actions; however, they turn off their “moral compass”.
The letter read, “Tough times happen, with executives in the room – VP level or higher – and nothing will be done. You’ll still show up for work the next day.”
Through HuffPost, an Adidas spokesperson issued a statement declining to comment on the incident surrounding the termination of their contract with West. “We will not discuss personal conversations, details or events [led] to our decision to end the Adidas Yeezy partnership,” they said.
The statement continued, “We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with our employees about the events that led to our decision to end the partnership,” the spokesperson said. “They have our full support.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
