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It doesn’t seem as if Kanye West’s name is going to disappear from news cycles anytime soon. The 45-year-old rapper who recently lost his billionaire status has now come under fire by Yeezy ex-employees who allege the father of four played pornographic tapes during staff meetings, showed intimate photographs of Kim Kardashian in job interviews, and even played explicit videos of sexual encounters with his ex-wife for team members, as reported by Rolling Stone.
On Tuesday evening, several former employees of Yeezy penned an open letter to executive board members and the new CEO of Adidas, urging the executives to address “the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created.” As well as the “very sick pattern of predacious behavior toward women” who worked under the Yeezy-Adidas partnership.
The letter was obtained exclusively by Rolling Stone, and alleges that Adidas executives were aware of West’s “problematic behavior” but “turned their moral compass off.”
The letter recalls West telling a senior female employee at a factory sample room in Qinyuan, China that the available Yeezy prototypes weren’t up to par with his expectations.
“I want you to make me a shoe I can f**k,” West told the woman.
There was no accountability. Difficult moments happened, with executives in the room — VP level or higher — and nothing would be done. You’d still show up to work the next day.
The letter also alleges that West would explode 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.
According to Rolling Stone, Adidas responded to their request for comment and provided a brief statement.
[The company] will not discuss private conversations, details, or events that lead [sic] to our decision to terminate the Adidas Yeezy partnership and decline to comment on any related speculation.
Rolling Stone also added that West, who stopped working with his publicist and was dropped by multiple high-level attorneys, could not be reached for comment.
Yeezy ex-staffers have agreed that they regret accepting the “unwritten rule from Adidas management” who passed West’s actions off as “Kanye just being Kanye.” The letter, titled “The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership,” accuses the company of lacking “responsibility, accountability, and protection” for employees who endured “years of verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks.”
The open letter also recalled instances when West would belittle certain staff members whom he publicly praised weeks earlier. One ex-staffer referred to his behavior as “playing mind games” and even included an example where West made a young, female designer sit on the floor during a meeting that last hours.
“You don’t deserve to sit at the table,” West told the designer.
No wonder why he didn’t want senior business managers in the room. He wanted to continue to use his power to violate you in a quiet way and threaten your role and existence within the team.
The letter goes on to allege that Adidas executives seemed to accept West’s showing of pornography during staff meetings and discussions. A former senior employee recalled an instance where two executives warned her about the rapper’s “whole porn-referencing thing” and that they believed he did it to catch employees off guard.
Another employee recalled West playing pornographic video on at least five different occasions.
He would be in a meeting and he’d be talking to you, and he’d rattle off in his laptop. And he’s like, ‘I know it’s uncomfortable, but I kind of need this in the background to keep me focused.’ And you’d be like, ‘Uhhhhh, oh-kay.’
Ex-staffers also recalled an instance where West, during a 2018 job interview in Chicago, pulled his phone out to reveal an explicit image of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
“My wife just sent me this,” West told the creative.
It was very revealing and personal. I didn’t really react.
The letter also recalled another instance later that year where West allegedly showed an explicit video of Kardashian.
