Rapper and businessman Kanye West was escorted out of Sketchers headquarters in Los Angeles after showing up unannounced, the company announced Wednesday.
West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, was immediately arrived with a group of people and was filming without authorization, a statement from Sketchers said. He apparently arrived at the headquarters in an attempt to find another company to carry his “Yeezy” sneakers line, after Adidas terminated its partnership with him over his recent comments about Jewish people. Robert Greenburg, the CEO and founder of Sketchers, is Jewish.
‘MORE SEVERE THAN ANTICIPATED’: ADIDAS’S SPLIT WITH KANYE WEST BRINGS HIRING FREEZE
“Kanye West — also referred to as Ye — arrived unannounced and without invitation at one of Skechers’ corporate offices in Los Angeles. Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation,” said a statement published on Sketchers’ website. “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech. The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
Even if Sketchers was receptive to West’s proposal, it is likely the company would be able to carry his sneakers line. Though West owns the Yeezy brand, the Yeezy shoe design is Adidas’s intellectual property, according to legal experts speaking with CNN.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The statement from Adidas announcing the end of the partnership read, “adidas (sic) is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership.”
