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Kanye West once had a designer sit on the floor for an hour-long meeting, according to Rolling Stone.
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A former employee said the incident followed a disagreement between West and the designer.
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The designer had been working on the Adidas-Yeezy line, according to the report.
Kanye West, aka Ye, had a young designer sit on the floor for an hour-long meeting, according to Rolling Stone, who cited a former employee who was in the room.
The publication spoke to more than a dozen former Adidas and Yeezy employees. The former employees, who requested anonymity, told the publication that West created a toxic environment for people who worked with him at the Adidas-Yeezy partnership. The collaboration between the rapper and the sportswear giant lasted nine years.
Former workers said West would praise some workers and belittle others he had previously supported. A former employee described it as “playing mind games.”
The former employee quoted by the publication said the incident began with a disagreement between West and the young designer.
“You don’t deserve to sit at the table,” the former employee recalled West saying before making the designer sit on the floor for the rest of the meeting, which they said lasted for hours.
Some of the former staff members also told the publication that West had shown them explicit images of his then wife Kim Kardashian on multiple occasions.
West was fired by Adidas on October 25 after a series of scandals and intense public criticism. In one incident, the rapper posted a series of anti-Semitic tweets. His account was blocked after the posts, but later reinstated.
An Adidas spokesperson said: “Adidas does not tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and has therefore ended the association with Adidas Yeezy. We have been and continue to be actively involved in discussions with our employees about the events that led to our decision to end the association. They have our full support and while we are working out the details of the termination, we have made it clear that we want to keep the talent and skills of our employees within the organization.
“Having said this, we will not discuss any private conversations, details or events leading up to our decision to end the partnership with Adidas Yeezy and we will decline to comment on any related speculation.”
Yeezy representatives did not respond to Insider’s request for comment. West could not be reached for comment directly.
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