Adidas cannot freeze money paid to Ye, judge rules

Adidas might be shaking in its shoes after a judge ruled it cannot freeze payments it gave to rapper Ye’s Yeezy brand as part of their now-terminated Yeezy partnership.

According to Bloomberg, a US district judge “rejected Adidas’s arguments that it needed a temporary restraining order to ensure that the funds remain available as its dispute with Ye over the blow-up of their partnership due to his antisemitic statements continues in arbitration.”

The company claimed that the $75 million it wanted to freeze “are restricted to marketing purposes,” per Bloomberg, which noted that the judge said “it seemed likely that Adidas would ultimately prevail in recovering the $75 million in arbitration, where the company is contending Ye violated his contract by making antisemitic remarks.”

Meanwhile, Adidas started selling “the first batch of more than $1 billion worth of Yeezy-branded sneakers” this week, per the Wall Street Journal, to offload inventory. Some of the proceeds from sales will be donated to antiracism organizations.

“Despite the unique circumstances behind this Yeezy product launch, in recent days Adidas has ramped up the marketing hype much as it would with the release of any highly coveted product,” according to the Wall Street Journal.