Kanye West finds himself in the midst of financial turmoil following the dissolution of his partnership with Adidas, a fallout triggered by his controversial antisemitic remarks.
The rift between the iconic rapper and the sportswear giant began in October 2022, shortly after West’s infamous “Death Con” comments, which led Adidas to sever ties with him. West opened up about the dire situation during an interview with TMZ on Monday (February 12), revealing that he was on the brink of bankruptcy at the time.
“I’m gonna be honest with y’all: I was two months from going bankrupt, really… And we survived. We survived through the cancellation,” West confessed.
In addition to discussing his financial struggles, West touched on his issues with “different companies” he had collaborated with in the past, particularly regarding pricing, although he didn’t specifically name Adidas.
Adidas projected a loss of approximately $246 million in net income for 2022 following the termination of its partnership with West, signaling the significant impact of their split.
Amidst the discussion, West addressed the backlash stemming from his antisemitic comments, for which he had previously apologized. Reflecting on the fallout and the criticism he faced, West emphasized the importance of freedom of speech while acknowledging the consequences of his words.
“We all have the right to our opinions but so many people will lose their jobs, lose their careers for taking the steps that we took. We went down for like a year and a half,” West stated.
Regarding his tweet in 2022 where he mentioned going “death con 3” on Jewish people, West expressed regret but also defended some of his statements, asserting that black people cannot be antisemitic.
“For all the Jewish kids that love me, I’m sorry if y’all had to hear a grown up conversation with us screaming at each other, but we got to a point where something needed to happen, something needed to be said,” West concluded, addressing the complexities of his controversial remarks.
