Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) said on Thursday it has launched an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior by Kanye West, after the German sporting goods maker ended its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer last month.
Adidas said it launched the investigation after receiving an anonymous letter making several allegations against the musician, who now goes by Ye.
The investigation follows a report by Rolling Stone magazine detailing alleged incidents of inappropriate behavior by Yeh toward employees and potential employees. Rolling Stone cited interviews with more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas employees.
According to the magazine, former team members sent an anonymous letter to Adidas saying senior company leaders were aware of Ye’s behavior, but “turned a blind eye” and “turned off their moral compass”. ”
“At this time it is unclear whether the allegations made in the anonymous letter are true,” a spokeswoman for Adidas said in a statement to Reuters.
“However, we take these allegations very seriously and have decided to immediately launch an independent investigation into the matter to address the allegations.”
You could not immediately be reached for comment. The news of the investigation was first reported by the Financial Times on Thursday.
Union Investments, which has a 0.76% stake in Adidas, wrote to the company asking for more details about the claims.
“Adidas needs to disclose that the management and supervisory board were informed in the first place about the internal allegations,” Jan Werning, head of ESG Capital Markets and Stewardship at Union Investments, said in a statement to Reuters.
Yeh has courted controversy in recent months by publicly ending major corporate alliances and venting social media outrage against other celebrities. His Twitter and Instagram accounts were banned, with the social media platforms removing some of his posts, which were condemned by users for being anti-social.
