Adidas chief executive Bjørn Gulden has claimed that Kanye West – who now goes by the moniker of Ye – “did not mean” the antisemitic remarks which lead to the brand severing ties with the rapper last year.

In what Gulden has previously described as one of the "most successful brand partnerships in history", Adidas collaborated with the rapper since 2006 on the Yeezy brand footwear he created.

The fallout and subsequent parting of ways began after West Tweeted that he was “going death con [sic] 3 On Jewish people”.

The rapper subsequently said “I like Hitler” in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and claimed that the German dictator “had some good ideas”.

Gulden made his thoughts known on Norwegian podcast In Good Company, in which he said that west was one of “one of the most creative people in the world”.

“And then, as creative people, he did some statements, which wasn’t that good… And that caused Adidas to break the contract and withdraw the product,” Gulden said, adding that it was “very unfortunate, because I don’t think he meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person – it just came across that way”.

The end of the fashion collaboration left Adidas with around £1 billion worth of unsold merchandise and resulted in the company's first annual loss in more than three decades.

Adidas recently launched the second release of its remaining Yeezy stock following the discontinuation of the range, with the proceeds set to be donated to various anti-hate charities.

Share Story: