Kanye West fires shots at Adidas during listening event
Kanye West has taken shots at Adidas during his recent listening event. While these shows are usually exhibitions of art and fashion rather than an opportunity to vent about personal vendettas, he used the stage on September 15th in Hainan, China as a means to express his disdain towards the popular fashion house.
“Fuck Adidas,” he chanted while holding up a middle finger during a recent event in China. “I hope that was okay,” he laughed before going into a performance of his big hit, ‘All Falls Down’, from his debut album, The College Dropout. His latter remark seems to be a reference to the government’s strict laws surrounding obscenity rather than his critique of Adidas.
This isn’t the first time that West has publicly criticised the company. The rapper was previously responsible for leading a similar chant in South Korea, which also included the motto “Fuck Adidas.” All of these statements come during his Vultures listening events, which sell out arenas worldwide.
Adidas cut ties with Ye in October 2022 following his antisemitic rant on social media. Adidas weren’t alone in shunning West following his comments, as voices in his professional and personal life made it clear that such hate speech wasn’t acceptable.
West went on an online tirade about Adidas when they cut ties with him. He said, “Fuck Adidas and everybody who works there or with them. Anyone who goes to school with anyone who’s parents work at Adidas. Just know they tried to destroy me and here we are with the number 1 song in the world.” He also said that Adidas were in the process of suing him for over $200million.
His remarks on Adidas isn’t the only reason his recent show in China is getting attention, either. He is also making headlines because he brought all four of his kids to the gig. North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm were all in attendance at the show, and they went on stage together to perform ‘Everybody’.
West’s wife, Bianca Censori, filmed the wholesome moment from the VIP section. This isn’t the first time West’s children have joined him on stage, as they have been present for several international trips recently.
West and Ty Dolla Sign recently released Vultures 2 on August 3rd. It was one of West’s worst-received albums, sounding borderline unlistenable at times. Despite the hostile reception, Ye’s recent listening parties have been some of his most successful.