“It is currently not clear whether the accusations 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 launch an independent investigation of the matter immediately to address the allegations.”
In Rolling Stone’s report, published Tuesday, former employees who worked with Ye’s Yeezy fashion brand accused the rapper of disturbing workplace conduct that they said Adidas leadership declined to confront. The magazine said it interviewed more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas staff.
Those people alleged Ye engaged in provocative, intimidating and sexualized behavior with staff, particularly women, over the course of a decade. Former staffers claimed that, among other incidents, Ye played porn in staff meetings and showed prospective and existing team members an explicit video and photos of Kim Kardashian, as well as his own sex tapes. Ye and Kardashian married in 2014 and filed for divorce early last year.
Several former high-ranking staff reportedly sent Adidas executives a letter on Tuesday calling for action from company leadership, whom they accused of ignoring Ye’s “predacious behavior toward 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.
