Entertainment

Investors Sue Adidas In US For Axing Kanye West

Published

12 months ago

May 4, 2023

Investors in Adidas have filed a lawsuit against the company at a US court over its cancelled partnership with Kanye West, saying it should have been aware he courted controversy.

The class-action lawsuit seen by AFP was submitted Friday in US District Court in Oregon, where the German sportswear giant’s US headquarters is located, and argues executives failed to control damage linked to the tie-up.

Adidas halted its deal with the rapper — now known formally as Ye — in October after he made a series of anti-Semitic outbursts.

As a result, the group ended production of the highly successful Yeezy line designed together with West.

The US lawsuit represents people who bought Adidas shares between May 3, 2018 and February 21, 2023.

It argues that for years before the partnership ended, the rapper “began to accrue controversy as a result of his various statements on topics such as slavery, racial issues, and politics”.

In 2018, for example, West suggested that slavery had been a “choice” for enslaved people, the lawsuit said.

Adidas dismissed the allegations in the litigation.

“We firmly reject these unfounded claims and will take all necessary steps to vehemently defend ourselves against them,” a company spokesman, Stefan Pursche, said in a statement emailed to AFP.

The artist was associated with rival sportswear company Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first Yeezy shoe in 2015 — a partnership that went on to make him a billionaire.

The company began a review of its relationship with West after he appeared at a Paris fashion show last October wearing a shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter”, a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Days later he was locked out of Twitter and Instagram over anti-Semitic threats.

Adidas said in March it was now weighing what to do with its huge inventory of West’s Yeezy products, as potentially not selling the apparel and shoes linked to West would lead to a revenue loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).

That would lower the company’s operating profit by an additional 500 million euros in 2023, the company said.

Adidas will release its first-quarter results on Friday.

Related Topics:Adidas Kanye West US investors

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Entertainment

Junior Pope: AGN Speaks On Possibility Of Dragging Movie Producer To Court [VIDEO]

Published

19 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Editor

The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, has hinted on the possibility of the association dragging Adanma Luke, the producer of the movie in which Junior Pope and four others died while working on, to court.

While speaking on Arise News this morning April 19, Rollas said the association’s lawyers are already preparing documents because ‘the matter is actionable’.

Recall that Jnr Pope and four members of the cast and crew of the movie died in a boat mishap in Anambra while heading to the movie location, Adanma has been blamed by some Nigerians for allegedly failing to provide them with life jackets before commuting via the boat.

Watch a video of Rollas speaking on Arise below:

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Entertainment

Junior Pope: Twist As Movie Producer Debunks Man’s Claim Of Being Captain Of Ill-fated Boat

Published

7 days ago

April 13, 2024

Editor

Movie producer, Stanley, has said the man in a viral video claiming to be the captain of the boat that claimed the lives of Junior Pope and four others, is a content creator and not the captain of the boat.

In the viral video, the man alleged that the late actor refused to rent a life jacket, saying he doesn’t have money.

He also alleged that the deceased actor and some others on the boat refused to appease the powers of the river, insisting that they were children of God.

He said he was able to come out alive because he could swim and that he was also able to save a lady who was on the boat.

However, Stanley said the man is a content creator and made the video to chase clout.

Read what he wrote below:

Entertainment

Boat Mishap: ‘This Is My Story’ – Movie Producer, Adanma Luke, Breaks Silence [VIDEO]

Published

7 days ago

April 13, 2024

Editor

Adanma Luke, the producer of the movie Jnr Pope and four others were working on before they died in a boat mishap on April 10, has broken her silence.

In a video she posted on her Instagram page, Adanma said she was also supposed to be on the ill-fated boat. She captioned the video ;

‘’Why me? Life Jacket was free”

While speaking, she said she has not been quiet since the unfortunate incident.

Her words: ‘’I have been so traumatized, so cold. This whole thing still feels like a dream to me.

“I have not been able to make any statement since because we have been trying to recover the bodies.

“I have been providing fuel money to those that have been looking for the bodies. I provided caskets, ambulances to make sure the bodies were conveyed to their villages to the families that wanted it to be done.

“I have not been quiet. I have been doing things just so these people can rest.

“It is so sad this had to happen on my set. I blame myself because I would have been doing my thing in Lagos. I blame myself for coming to Asaba.

“I was supposed to be on that boat. My production manager was calling me to bring the memory card so they could start filming and I told him to come and collect it. He said ‘Mama, you know this place is far, just bring it for us’. I said why haven’t you people crossed? Why haven’t you people gone to work? He said they were waiting for Junior Pope to arrive.

“Before now, on the 9th, they went there on their own. Junior Pope came on his own. On this 10th, while I was getting ready to go drop the card with them, I was accompanied by my brother’s two children who were supposed to be with me on that boat together. On getting there, I saw Emeka. He was my DOP. He was just sitting. I was surprised because I didn’t see others.

“I asked him what is it? People surrounded him. He was quiet. I said Emeka, talk to me, what is it? why haven’t you crossed? Where is Ogolo? Where is everybody? has JP come? He was quiet.

Emeka now said ‘”JP Don go! Abigail don go! Friday don go! Precious don go! I still did not understand what he meant by that. I said Emeka what do you mean? Don go where? He said ‘’Them dey inside water!””

Adanma said she wanted to go into the water to search for them but was held back.

Watch the video she shared below…