Adidas AG said on Thursday it has launched an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior by Kanye West after the German sports goods maker ended its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer last month.
Adidas said it launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous letter with several allegations against the musician, now known as E.
The investigation follows a report by Rolling Stone magazine detailing alleged misconduct by E toward staff and prospective employees.
Rolling Stone interviewed more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas employees.
According to the magazine, former team members sent an anonymous letter to Adidas saying that the company’s senior management was aware of E’s behavior but “turned a blind eye” and “turned off their moral compass”.
“It is unclear at this time whether the allegations in the anonymous letter are true,” an Adidas spokesman said in a statement to Reuters.
“However, we take these allegations very seriously and have decided to immediately launch an independent investigation into the matter to resolve these allegations.”
Ye could not be reached for comment.
News of the investigation was first reported by the Financial Times on Thursday.
According to the Financial Times, Germany’s third-largest asset manager, Union Investment, wrote to Adidas on Thursday asking for more information about the claims.
Union Investment did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Ye has courted controversy in recent months by publicly ending major corporate ties and lashing out at other celebrities on social media.
His Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted, and the social network removed some of his posts that users condemned as anti-Semitic.
