“Ye canceled cancel culture”: Kanye West seemingly rekindling relationship with Adidas CEO sparks mixed reactions

Kanye West, the American rapper and media personality, has gone viral after posting a picture with the CEO of Adidas, Bjørn Gulden. Netizens wonder if the post represents another collaboration with the brand after the antisemitism backlash.

On Tuesday, February 12, 2024, Ye shared a photo on Instagram that shows him with the Adidas CEO as the two men sit on a couch together, as per Hot New Hip Hop. The 46-year-old captioned the presumably recent picture,

"Make adidas great again."

A fan talks about Ye and Adidas. (Images via Instagram/@hollywoodunlocked)

Adidas terminated its partnership with West back in October of 2022 after several viral anti-Semitic comments from the rapper, as per Billboard. Some social media users praised Ye for "canceling cancel culture."

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Kanye West allegedly meets with Adidas CEO after fallout

Kanye West sparked speculations about future business with Adidas after posting a picture with the CEO Bjørn Gulden. He also suggested making the brand "great again," similar to Donald Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) slogan from the 2016 elections, as per Hot New Hip Hop.

Kanye West first signed a contract with Adidas in 2013 that would eventually aid towards his billionaire net worth. The brand offered a groundbreaking 15% of royalties off of Yeezy sales.

The brand and Ye had a falling out in 2022 after the rapper made many racially charged comments about the Jewish and African-American communities. He seemingly sympathized with Hitler and spoke about offensive conspiracy theories about Jewish people. The anti-Semitic comments made both Adidas and Ye lose out on close to $1 billion in revenue, as per People.

Adidas ended their partnership with Kanye West back in October of 2022. The company reported a $540 million loss after the termination. In September 2023, Gulden said he did not believe Ye meant his anti-Semitic comments, as per XXL.

The rapper has allegedly been succeeding on his own. As per Hip Hop Dx, he recently claimed he'd made $19.3 million selling products on his Yeezy website.

Netizens reacted to Ye's possible comeback with the brand. Some of the reactions are given below.

Kanye West recently told media outlets on February 12, 2024, that he was on the verge of bankruptcy after the termination of his contract with Adidas, as per XXL. He said,

"I’m gonna be honest with y’all: I was two months from going bankrupt, really… And we survived. We survived through the cancellation.”

The rapper also mentioned his 2022 tweet,

"I even sent the apology and [adidas] still fuck with me. Some of the stuff I was saying was true. So until y’all come up and say, ‘Yo, what he was saying, some of that was true,’ go ahead with all that … Black people can’t be antisemitic. We are Jews, you understand what I’m saying? We are Jew."

There have been no official statements about a new project between the two parties yet.