Kanye West Turned Away After Showing Up at Skechers Headquarters
Kanye West is scrambling to find a new Yeezy partner in the wake of his canceled adidas deal.
West reportedly showed up at Skechers headquarters in Manhattan Beach, Calif. on Wednesday hoping for a meeting with the company’s executives, but he was turned away.
Sources tell TMZ that this was not a scheduled meeting with management. “[Ye] arrived unannounced and without invitation at one of Skechers’ corporate offices in Los Angeles,” said a rep for the sneaker company. “Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation.”
However, the company has no interest in a partnership with West. “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West,” added the rep. “We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech. Again, West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
As TMZ points out, Skechers is owned and operated by a Jewish family, an odd choice for West considering his anti-Semitic comments that resulted in him being dropped by adidas.
It appears that West is searching for a new manufacturer and distributor for his Yeezy shoe brand after claiming that he wanted to end his corporate partnerships with Adidas and Gap and “go it alone.”
“It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever,” he said. “Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”
Amid the backlash, Balenciaga and CAA have both cut ties with the rapper, while Foot Locker and Gap have pulled all Yeezy merchandise from their floors. Forbes also reports that West has lost his billionaire status as a result of the adidas partnership ending.