Adidas announced Thursday that it will investigate allegations of workplace misconduct against Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, published in a Rolling Stone report this week.
“It is currently unclear whether the allegations made in an anonymous letter are true,” Adidas said in a statement. “However, we take these allegations very seriously and have taken the decision to immediately launch an independent investigation into the matter to resolve the allegations.”
In the Rolling Stone report published Tuesday, former employees who worked with Ye’s Yeezy fashion brand accused the rapper of disruptive workplace behavior that they say Adidas management refused to address. The magazine said it interviewed more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas employees.
Those people alleged that Ye engaged in inflammatory, intimidating and sexualized behavior with staff, particularly women, for more than a decade. Former employees said that, among other incidents, Ye played porn in staff meetings and showed potential and existing team members explicit video and photos of Kim Kardashian, as well as her sex tapes. Ye and Kardashian married in 2014 and filed for divorce early last year.
Several former high-ranking employees sent a letter to Adidas executives on Tuesday demanding action from the company’s management, who they accused of ignoring Ye’s “predatory behavior” towards women and the “toxic and chaotic environment” he created .
Adidas, under pressure to cut ties with the designer following multiple incidents of hate speech, ended its partnership with Ye last month.
Ye has also been dropped by most of his other professional partners, including his talent agency and other brands such as Balenciaga and Gap.
