Although Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted commended Kanye West‘s importance to the fashion brand, calling the controversial rapper a “fantastic creator” and “a very important part of [Adidas] strategy,” that has not stopped detractors from calling for his dismissal.
The call comes as part of an ongoing backlash after the Grammy-winner took to TMZ to claim African Americans’ endurance of 400 years of slavery was “a choice” (click here to read more on that). And, while commenters from all walks of life have slammed his declaration, Adidas have declared they are sticking by the embattled star during this trying time.
“We’re not going to comment or speculate on every single comment that our external creators are making..and that’s where I’m going to leave it,” Rorsted said during an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday (May 3).
There are over 16,000 signees of a petition who don’t share Rorsted’s stance. Details inside:
The petition, which can be found here, goes on to say:
Kanye West has a right to free speech, and he has the right to spout lies and misinformation and misplaced opinions — but we as consumers have the right to fight back against this type of dangerous propaganda.
That is why Care2 is asking Adidas to drop their partnership with Mr. West and tell the world they do not want anything to do with anyone who believes that millions of Africans chose to toil the fields in bondage for 400 years…
Ouch!