Kanye West slams Adidas Over ‘Fake Yeezy’ slides
The music mogul, who had taken a three-month hiatus from Instagram, reappeared on Monday to accuse the platform of ripping off his Yeezy slides design.
“THIS IS YE driving down the same street Kobe passed on,” he wrote in the since-deleted post, referencing the legendary Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.
Last year, Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, outed Nike for allegedly releasing shoes she designed to honor their late child, Gigi, without her consent.
“To Kasper, I’m not standing for this blatant copying no more,” Ye continued, addressing Adidas’ CEO Kasper Rørsted directly. “To all sneaker culture To every ball player rapper or even if you work at the store. This is for everyone who wants to express themselves but feel they can’t cause they’ll lose their contract or be called crazy Bravery is not being afraid Bravery is overcoming your fear for your truth,” he added.
“This Ye with the blue paint on my face These shoes represent the disrespect that people in power have to the talent This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves I’m not talking to DC about this either Kasper come to talk to me.”
“Happy Monday,” he sarcastically ended the message.
The rapper has been a business partner of Adidas since 2013, and the $55 Adilette 22 sandals are set to be released on June 23.
The Adilette sandals are comparable in shape and concept to Yeezy’s more pricey slides, which were released in 2019.
In 2020, sales for Yeezy sneakers topped nearly $1.7 billion in annual revenue, which landed the rapper a whopping $191 million in royalties, according to Bloomberg.
Rørsted has yet to issue a response to Ye’s claims.