Kanye West‘s longstanding battle with adidas has taken an unexpected turn — and it’s actually worked in favor of the controversial Hip Hop star.
According to court documents obtained by Billboard, on Tuesday (May 30), a Manhattan federal judge denied adidas’ request for an emergency order to re-freeze $75million held by Kanye West’s Yeezy brand.
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The German shoe giant’s attorneys argued that without such an order it would suffer “irreparable harm,” but the judge was unconvinced. “It is hereby ordered that … adidas’ motion for a TRO is denied,” the court documents read.
On the other hand, while this is a loss for adidas, Tuesday’s ruling only denied the emergency motion; adidas can still win a more conventional order in the coming days reimposing an asset freeze on Yeezy.
Both sides are due to file briefs on that request by Thursday (June 1).
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Last October, adidas severed business ties with West over a string of antisemitic remarks he made in interviews and on social media. After terminating their contract, the company released a statement explaining the situation.
“adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the statement read. “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.”
It continued: “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
Amid their intense legal battle, West claimed during an interview with celebrity gossip outlet X17, that adidas had frozen his bank accounts. In a shocking turn of events, he turned out to be right.
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Last week, Law360 reported that unbeknownst to Yeezy, adidas was given legal permission to freeze nearly $100million in funds in November 2022 because of the Chicago rapper’s antisemitic remarks.
Kanye West did not get the opportunity to fight back against the legal order because it was an ex parte decision, meaning it was granted without waiting for a response from the other side.
