Adidas recently announced they decided to end their partnership with Ye on their iconic brand Yeezy. This happened because he Tweeted anti-Semitic comments on Twitter, mocking Adidas, saying how they won’t drop him. Adidas started investigating Ye on October 6th. They officially terminated him on October 25th. Not only did Adidas cut ties, but other companies such as Gap Inc., Balenciaga, CAA Talent Agency, and MRC Production Company, who had been working with Ye on a movie, have also terminated their relationships.

How did he get here and what is Ye losing following the fallout of Yeezy?

Back in 2013 Ye left his partnership with Nike because they didn’t give him enough creative control XXL stated in 2013. Adidas quickly partnered with him in the same year, and they got quickly to designing. In 2014 Adidas officially signed Ye and Yeezy was born according to CNN.  Their first pair of shoes being the Yeezy Boost 750 in February of 2015. Their second collaboration being the Boost 350, which were the 2015 Shoe of the Year, and possibly the first pair of shoes that come to mind when you hear Yeezy.

In January 2015, Yeezy became its own brand inside of Adidas. Ye had the full creative control and worked side to side with Yeezy up until now. With 19 models and nearly 200 different colorways, customers were able to really choose and be personal with whatever pair they chose. That’s not even including the apparel they’ve dropped. But what does all of this mean for not only the future of Ye, but the future of Adidas?

Yeezy brought in about $1.5 billion to Ye’s net worth, without Yeezy,

Forbes claims his net worth is only worth $400 million. Adidas only paid him 15% of what they would make from Yeezy. Adidas held off on terminating him, but they knew they would need too. Adidas was founded by a member of the Nazi party, Time mentions in an article, so they do not tolerate anti-Semitic or racist behavior, including the Tweets mentioned earlier and the “White Lives Matter” shirts he had models wearing. They knew this would take a big toll on the company either way: if they kept him, people wouldn’t buy his shoes or apparel because of what he said and did. If they dropped him, nobody would be able to buy any of his shoes or apparel because they don’t sell them anymore.

Ultimately, they decided that their brand and image is more important than the money Ye brought in. They don’t want to have anti-Semitic or racist words behind their brand as it doesn’t represent them. “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” Adidas stated when they released their official statement on their website.

Adidas decided they will continue to sell shoes with similar styles and colorways under Adidas name CBS says.  For those who want the original, Ye designed Yeezys, the only way to get them is online from resellers. With a limited supply of shoes, they’ll cost a pretty penny. On StockX, the prices range from $93 for slides to $13,571 for the Nike Air Yeezy. Even a signed pair selling for $12,500,000!