Kanye West threatens to break with Adidas, Gap if not named to their boards
'That has to change today or I walk away,' rapper says
During a freewheeling campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, rapper Kanye West threatened to walk away from deals with Adidas and Gap if he is not named to their respective company boards.
West, who filed a statement of candidacy last week for what would be a long-shot bid for president in 2020, said in June that he signed a 10-year agreement with Gap. He first debuted a Yeezy brand collaboration with Adidas in 2015.
"Risk or no risk of losing whatever deal possible, I am not on the board at Adidas," West said Sunday while speaking in favor of more power for Black people. "I am not on the board at Gap. And that has to change today or I walk away."
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Forbes named West a billionaire in April based on his stake in Yeezy, but the rapper said Sunday that status could be at risk because of what he was saying.
"Because of [Adidas'] 15% royalty, it made me into a billionaire, which could make me, off of this speech alone, at zero tomorrow," West said. "But when God calls Moses, he has to leave his comfy job working for the Egyptians and free the people."
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In April, Forbes concluded that Yeezy splitting with Adidas seems "almost prohibitively cumbersome, if not contractually impossible," because the German sportswear maker "produces, markets and distributes the shoes."
Adidas declined to comment on West's remarks.
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