Kanye West told a Jewish Adidas manager to kiss a photo of Hitler “every day” amid decade of harassment
A bombshell new report from the New York Times also discusses how the rapper (now known as Ye) would throw shoes and make staffers watch porn during meetings
Aux News Hitler
Last October, Adidas finally dropped their long-term partner Kanye West after the rapper made a slew of antisemitic comments (among other things). This was despite the fact that Yeezy, their sneaker partnership, was netting the company over $1 billion annually. For many staffers, it was too little, too late. While Adidas employees have come forward with allegations of exceedingly bad behavior from the rapper (now known as Ye) in the past, a lengthy new report from The New York Times delves deeper into the decade-long collaboration than any have before. What it found is stomach-churning.
Apparently, employees were confronted with West’s rampant antisemitism as soon as their very first pitch meeting with the rapper. After reviewing a number of unsatisfactory fabric swatches and shoe designs, West allegedly grabbed one of the sketches and drew a swastika on the toe to convey his dislike of the sneaker. It only got worse from there.
As Ye ramped up his antisemitism in public last fall, he also doubled down behind the scenes. Employees reported that West repeatedly commended Hitler for his use of propaganda, calling the genocidal dictator a “marketing master” and saying he planned to name his next album after him. (It was eventually titled Ye.) Most egregiously, West apparently told TMZ that “it was important to love everyone, including Nazis” in the same interview in which he infamously said that slavery “sounds like a choice.” Back in the office, West stood by that statement, telling Jon Wexler, a Jewish Adidas executive, to “hang a photo of Hitler in his kitchen and kiss it every day to practice unconditional love.”
Elsewhere in the report, the NYT discusses how West would level sexually explicit comments against female staffers, force employees to watch pornography in meetings “ostensibly to spark creativity,” and throw sneakers around the room when he got angry at meetings. He was also allegedly not sleeping, drinking at work, and consistently using marketing money for his own bizarre agenda.
Still, throughout all of this, the company’s C-suite consistently “sought not to rein him in but to appease him,” with an eye to their bottom line. After the slavery comment, for example, Kasper Rorsted, Adidas’ CEO at the time, brushed it off, saying “Kanye has helped us have a great comeback in the U.S.” He only doubled down months later, adding: “We’re not signing up to his statements; we’re signing up to what he brings to the brand and the products he’s bringing out.”
There’s a lot more content to mull over in the full NYT report, which follows Ye and Adidas through the entire trajectory and dissolution of their decade-long partnership. While long, it’s certainly worth a read, especially as Ye returns to the stage after a long absence and threatens to drop a new album any day now, “potentially without warning.”
81 Comments
Well suddenly it occurs to me why Kanye gravitated to Adidas, since it was founded by a literal Nazi.
Puma was right there waiting.
I still can’t believe no one has ever made a movie about the Dassler brothers, on that note.
I doubt anyone wants to risk making a movie that would piss off both of those companies. The only thing they could probably work together on would be destroying someone who crosses them.
a straight-up biography would never happen, obviously… but i’d definitely watch a fictional movie about the, uh, Bassler brothers, nazi founders of Radidas and Fuma.
Both Dassler brothers were Nazis! And apparently the Puma founder even more Nazi-ish.
“With the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, both Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party, with Rudolf reputed as being the more ardent Nazi.[5]”
The poor Hugo Boss executives are like “Why doesn’t zhe like us?”
Calling this guy a raving lunatic is an insult to raving lunatics.
Yeah, no. I used to be able to compartmentalize his bullshit by declaring him dead from 2015 or so on. But I think I’m at a point where his old music is tainted for me as well.
Yes, his early music is brilliant but I can’t bring myself to listen to it since he went “death-con 3″ on the Jewish people.
I should have pulled the plug a lot sooner myself but I’m nothing if not a big hypocrite.
Hey, hypocrisy is fine when I do it.
i mean, thankfully, he hasn’t made anything truly inspired since Yeezus.
Very true. Life of Pablo was forgettable and everything since has been unlistenable.
Same. I used to *love* his music. But once he got to the point of saying Hitler wasn’t so bad, yeah. It pained me but I deleted all of his music, even collaborations with other artists, from my phone. And I can tell you, like a full third of my playlist for the gym was Kanye.
i was worried it would taint my affection for Justin Vernon but Vernon’s been very clear about having long since jumped ship from the sinking SS Kanye barge.
“hang a photo of Hitler in his kitchen and kiss it every day to practice unconditional love.”Who d he think he is, Mahatma Gandye?
Easy on the tiller there, Capt. Bapu.
To me Kanye West is just a public figure of awfulness – that’s all I know him from. I don’t know his music (not my genre) and I’m not sure I’ve ever actually heard anything he’s released (at least not to my knowledge). The ONLY things I know about him are these non-music stories. This leads me to ask: How brilliant does his music actually have to be so that people are willing to put up with him? I understand that “talent” can be “problematic” but seriously, when do you just say “this fuckstick ain’t worth it”?
Oh, I also know he makes FUGLY shoes that are stupid expensive because people are dumb as shit.
Well, his public antics were not that bad to be honest, he mostly embarrassed himself.
Even his racist rant against jewish people was more embarrassing for him than actually armful to others.
Personally, I read something about him being bipolar or autistic a while ago. For me it kind of made a lot of sense so I’ve been rolling with it since then.
Also I accepted a long time ago that people who are at the top of their field are all on the spectrum of some mental illness. From sociopaths becoming CEOs or Politicians, to autistic or trauma riddled people being artists, you have to be outside of the “norm” to get to that point.
Being ill isn’t an excuse for claiming, several time, that enslaved people in the Americas chose to be.
Well, he did say in the same interview that “It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned”.
And later added “[T]o make myself clear. Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will. My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved.”To me, the same can be said of the europeans before the wave of revolutions against monarchies and the feudal system.
But it’s easy to judge because today we’re all educated people that can read, write and know a lot about history and mankind and have incredible means of communications.
In those days your all world was your village or the plantation you worked on (if we talk about slaves in america). Besides working and maybe being endoctrinated by church on sundays there weren’t much free ideas going around.
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but crazy people say crazy things. Because they’re crazy.
You are an idiot and an asshole. Stop using mental illness as an excuse for malignant narcissists like this, shitface.
Exactly. Millions of people with mental illness manage to not be pieces of shit like Kanye; and it’s offensive to suggest that they could be.
Acting as if mental illness or trauma should give someone a pass for abhorrent behavior is just as dangerous to those dealing with those issues as any other sort of stigmatization. The assumption that ‘artists’ are all just ‘like this’ is beyond offensive to THIS mentally ill artist and the millions of others like me who aren’t anti-semites.
I’m about done with all of the ‘mental illness’ mythologies that have gotten completely out of control. A lot of it is trauma and behaviors are adaptations – usually adaptations that bother someone else (who responds with a different one). That said, narcissism – whatever it actually is – is real and it’s devestating because the narc is incapable of self-awareness at an authentic level and they almost always self-destruct, taking countless people down with them. Trump’s doing it. This guy seems to be on his way.
I didn’t say that his behaviour shouldn’t have consequences, I neither like the guy nor his music, so I don’t care if he gets canceled.
I actually use to make fun of the guy, now I just think he’s crazy and I mostly ignore his antics. But I never enabled them either.
Funny how mental illness can get you off the hook for killing someone, but not for saying something offensive.
yah….keep on bending over to make excuses for his ridicuous behavior. No danger in damaging a spine you don’t possess.the guy is a disgusting mess and excuses for ANY reason to allow him to continue are indicative of how shallow people are. In fact, he’s COUNTING on you slow-wits to defend him so he can continue with his disgusting behavior. This is what’s wrong with this world. “It’s ok, he’s got great excuses to be a jacka$$, plus he’s artistic and a millionaire so he’s entitled”. That’s such BS.
Bringing context is not making excuses, I didn’t advocate for him being uncancelled. I just said that as an outside witness of his antics, the dude is obviously crazy, I use to find his dumb crap funny. Until I knew that he is actually crazy, now I think it’s mostly pathetic and sad and mostly ignore it.
Whether the public wants to cancel him or buy his albums isn’t really something I have an influence on tough. I don’t have a dog in this fight, his career his basically over and I’m not going to be the one who will march for his return.
I’m sorry you’re getting piled on by people who don’t understand your original post. It is so fucking clear that he is suffering from some personality disorders.
That is not an excuse for his abhorrent behavior, but it provides a context in order to figure out how it should be dealt with. (which it clearly isn’t) He is literally a madman on the loose in our society. (I realize that is inflammatory language, but that’s the layman’s term)
I was not that clear to be honest. But it’s okay, I don’t take it personally, it’s the internet, people are vindictive and reductive. It’s funny that everyone disappeared of this conversation though.But you said it well he is a madman loose in our society. But I guess after learning so many times that so and so were rapists, pedophiles or abusers, a dude with mental health going around saying and doing stupid stuffs is not my priority.The dude called himself a god, but he wasn’t a violent person. He wasn’t calling for murder.But he’s also no role model.
I really wish people would stop rationalizing explicit bigotry with mental illness.
I mean bigotry is one thing, but in 2023 saying “I’m going def con 3 on the jews”, drawing a swastiska on shoes or saying to a jewish person to“hang a photo of Hitler in his kitchen and kiss it every day to practice unconditional love.”, to me that’s way beyond bigotry.
Whatever the reason for the behaviour, you don’t give a platform or you don’t enable a person like this. Same reason you don’t give free drinks and a megaphone to the village drunk.
As someone who never listened or buy his music, I don’t feel responsible for enabling him. That doesn’t change the fact that I think the guy needs professional help for his mental health.
There’s millions of artists out there, many of whom struggle daily with mental illness and trauma, that aren’t antisemites, thank you very much.
It manifests in many different ways. I did not say that it is ok to be an antisemite whether or not you are mentally ill.
people who are at the top of their field are all on the spectrum of some mental illness All people at the top of their field have some mental illness?
Guess it depends how you define mental illness, but most are just people that think a bit differently. That’s not a mental illness.
Plus it reeks of the 4Chan/Tik Tok use of the term “Autistic” to mean good at figuring out problems It’s very problematic. It insults actual people with these disabilities and leads to people self diagnosing themselves as an excuse for bad behavior.
alls i know is that he sampled my favourite curtis mayfield song and still managed to make an uninteresting tune.
I think while he was making music people liked, then people liked him.
Now I don’t think that’s the case for the former or latter.
I like rap but I’m picky. I’m also no expert. I don’t like his stuff; his style, his lyrics, his approach. His videos sacrifice the music to his persona, which comes across as the ultimate suffering ‘misunderstood artist/sacrificial lamb.’ His ego is monumental and he isn’t satisfied until everyone agrees that he’s the greatest. I hate throwing ‘mental illness’ accusations at people but, wow, people think Britney Spears isn’t well…..
I’m pretty sure that he has been diagnosed as bipolar (and I’ve seen a video or two where that seems obvious) – That said, it’s not like being bipolar makes you a right-wing anti-Semite who is abusive to others. Kanye definitely needs help (people with bipolar disorder are REALLY hard to medicate, especially when they are “up”) – but yeah, he really just seems to be a shitty person.
I no longer subscribe to “mental illnesses” or disorders as they are listed in the DSM-5 or anywhere else. He is who he is and he became that way as a consequence of any number of factors. As long as he doesn’t commit any crimes, hurt anyone, etc. he’s free to do what he does. I wouldn’t want to hang with him for a dozen reasons. He obviously has issues with women, for example. The ‘medications’ we give people haven’t undergone rigorous enough research to prove they are even effective for what they propose to treat. Not trying to be contrarian. We are going too far in trying to pathologize normal human responses. And, as always, I have to add that I’m not a Scientologist.
Your beliefs about mental illness and/or pharmaceutical treatments of said mental illnesses are irrelevant to the fact that: (1) mental illnesses are real and people suffer; and (2) pharmaceutical treatments, although not perfect, are often (but not always) effective when paired with non-pharmaceutical therapy (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). You may not be a Scientologist, but I am a scientist.
They aren’t irrelevant. Intense scepticsism is essential. There are no “illnesses.” Nothing in the DSM-5 can be attributed to any pathology of the brain. Nothing. There are no facts. As to pharmaceuticals, there are too many studies proving that they do not actually cure or effecitvely treat anything. The seratonin theory was debunked quite some time ago and was recently pronounced hypothetical, at best. Placebos were equally effective. Your science is not being rigorously tested and the funding is not coming from sources without serious financial and political bias.What is your field of science?
Cognitive neuroscience.
You clearly know nothing.
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and it’s diseases. Psychiatry continues to insist that there are “brain diseases” that cause certain behaviors. There is no science there. Society itself is extremely sick and making an argument personal is a symptom of that.
I am not a scientist, or any other medical professional.
I am a 57 year old woman who has known since I was about 7 years old that I was not “normal.” I was lucky in my family and support system, and they recognized early on that I was much more sensitive than the norm, and that it affected my daily life (not wanting to go to school, crying uncontrollably about sad songs, movies, commercials, etc. I could go on and on) I finally got a diagnosis in my 30’s, and it has been refined since then.
I am so thankful that there is a way for me to understand why I’ve done the things I’ve done in my life, why I’ve reacted “inappropriately”, and why I’m not always comfortable around other people – and vice versa. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, and what works for one person doesn’t always work for another. But this has worked for me.
In this case, it wasn’t his music that made people put up with him. It was the profit generated by his shoes.Ugly ass shoes, but hey no accounting for taste. Supposedly they’re real comfy.Music wise? His good shit was from before he stopped taking his meds, so it’s a lot easier to separate.
Obama was right all along
Kanye never recovered from that severe comment! And Drumpty never recovered from the roasting at the Correspondent’s Dinner!
Manbabies never recover from anything negative. Or positive. Or rain in the Pacific.
Obama is a treasure. “Jackass” is such a perfect word for West.
I forget how intentionally funny Obama could be. “Cut the President some slack” is a perfect button on that clip.
Truly a creative genius of our times.
Even as someone who’s been on Team Fuck Kanye for a while, that Hitler photo thing is the most fake-sounding shit I ever heard
Considering all the dumb pro-Nazi shit he’s said or written that’s actually on the record, it’s plausible as fuck though.
It’s beyond plausible. It’s directly on brand.
It’s doesn’t sound plausible if he walked up to the guys and calmly said “You should kiss a picture of Hitler” but from what I understand Kayne, when he’s having an “episode” of bigotry, is very much a stream of conscious ranter and I can totally see him dropping that advice in a hour long rambling monologue about why he doesn’t like the souls on those sneakers.
“souls on those sneakers”Not sure if typo or Kanye
In classic AVclub fashion. It can be two things
West allegedly grabbed one of the sketches and drew a swastika on the toe to convey his dislike of the sneaker.I mean, are we sure that’s what this meant?
Maybe he was trying to pitch the idea for a collaboration with Mercedes but sadly he sucks at drawing.
Or Fanta
Well, how do you indicate your displeasure with footwear? In Paraguay?
I’m Australian, sooo…
I wasn’t disparaging it! I was honouring it! As I do every day!
sorry to hear that. fair dinkum: nobody’s perfect. mate.
Given his fondness for all things nazi, I would think him drawing a swastika on something would equate to a thumbs up.
It started as a thumbs up, but the all the digits on his hand went up, and the his whole arm went up, then everything past his shoulder sort of lined up in a 135 degree angle from the rest of his body.
Possibly, those were for sale in India.
A billion dollars a year? How? Where? I’ve been on all 7 continents and I have never seen a pair on anyone’s feet. I know some sneaker heads have a pair in their collection, but that doesn’t get to a billion in sales for years.
Maybe it’s Zimbabwean dollars.
The people who buy these don’t wear them.
“hang a photo of Hitler in his kitchen and kiss it every day to practice unconditional love.”
Certainly wouldn’t be the first time an adidas exec had a photo of Hitler in his kitchen:“Both Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in May 1933 and became members of the National Socialist Motor Corps.[14] Adolf took the rank of Sportwart in the Hitler Youth from 1935 until the end of the war.[15] During the war, the company was running the last sport shoe factory in Germany and predominantly supplied the Wehrmacht with shoes.”
I’m not buying most of this. It sounds like an Onion story. And I don’t see Adidas putting up with any of this for more than a day. They can get anybody they want to put their face on Adidas products.
Kanye West being terrible to people?I am shocked. Shocked, I say!
West repeatedly commended Hitler for his use of propaganda, calling the genocidal dictator a “marketing master” and saying he planned to name his next album after him. (It was eventually titled Ye.)“It was me! I was Hitler all along!” – Kanye, probably