Rapper and businessman Kanye West was escorted out of Skechers headquarters in Los Angeles after showing up unannounced, the company announced Wednesday.
West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, was escorted out shortly after arriving with a group of people and was filming without authorization, a statement from Skechers said. He apparently arrived at the headquarters in an attempt to find another company to carry his “Yeezy” sneakers line after Adidas terminated its partnership with him over his recent comments about Jewish people. Robert Greenburg, the CEO and founder of Skechers, is Jewish.
‘MORE SEVERE THAN ANTICIPATED’: ADIDAS’S SPLIT WITH KANYE WEST BRINGS HIRING FREEZE
“Kanye West — also referred to as Ye — arrived unannounced and without invitation at one of Skechers’ corporate offices in Los Angeles. Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation,” said a statement published on Skechers’s website. “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech. The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
The popular rapper has been canceled by several media and social media companies and various retail brands since he came forward with comments in recent weeks that have been widely criticized as antisemitic and offensive. Yet, during a podcast interview with MIT research scientist Lex Fridman, he expressed gratitude. “There was a day where I was headed to Nashville to meet with George Farmer, who is the CEO of Parler, the day when we made the announcement,” he said, referring to his intention to acquire the conservative social media platform. “That same day, Balenciaga was taking my imagery off of their site, and the Drink Champs [episode] was being taken down. And I said, ‘This is the happiest day of my life.’”
Even if Skechers was receptive to West’s proposal, it is unlikely the company would be able to carry his sneakers line. Though West owns the Yeezy brand, the Yeezy shoe design is Adidas’s intellectual property, according to legal experts speaking with CNN.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The statement from Adidas announcing the end of the partnership read, “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership.”
