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Kanye West has hired Camille Vasquez, the lawyer who defended Johnny Depp, to handle his business interests.
Vasquez, who gained national fame over her representation of Depp in his heated defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, will be among the lawyers at the Brown Rudnick firm now working with West, TMZ reports.
The law firm declined to confirm to DailyMail.com whether or not it has secured West as a client.
It comes after Balenciaga dropped West as a business partner while Adidas threatens to cut ties with the rapper following his anti-Semitic rants on social media.
Kanye West has hired Camille Vasquez (left), who famously defended Johnny Depp in his defamation trial, to handle his business interests
Vasquez gained national fame after he masterful defense of Depp in his heated trial
It comes as Kanye has lost a major business deal with fashion house Balenciaga. Pictured: Kanye West attending an event with Candace Owens on October 12
Brown Rudnick declined to comment on whether or not they have secured West as a client. Pictured, Brown Rudnick attorney Vasquez hugging Depp in court
WWD reported that Balenciaga had dropped the troubled rapper who has been on a tirade lately calling for death to Jews who have wronged him and also calling President Biden the ‘r’ word.
Parent company Kering said the French fashion house would no longer be working on projects with the rapper and fashion designer who has legally changed his name to Ye.
‘Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,’ Kering told WWD.
Meanwhile, Adidas has said it’s partnership with West is ‘under review’ following increased pressure to drop the rapper from the Anti-Defamation league and Friends star David Schwimmer.
Schwimmer, 55, recently shared a video of West, 45, saying: ‘The thing I can say about Adidas is, I can literally say anti-Semitic s**t and they can’t drop me, I can say anti-Semitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what? Now what?
Schwimmer captioned his post: ‘Now what, Adidas?’ before posting ‘Join me and the Anti-Defamation League in demanding Adidas #RunAwayFromHate and sharing a link to a petition from Campaign Against Antisemitism calling for West to be dropped -which has garnered more than 3000 signatures.
Adidas, a German company whose founders were members of the Nazi party, first launched its collaboration with West’s brand Yeezy in 2015.
West’s deal with Adidas is worth $220 million annually and $1.5 billion total, cites Forbes.
Post: David Schwimmer has demanded Adidas drop Kanye West for making anti-Semitic remarks – after the embattled musician lost a major business deal with fashion house Balenciaga
The Anti-Defamation League has also written an open letter to Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted and Chair Thomas Rabe urging the brand to drop West.
They wrote ‘In light of Kanye West’s increasingly strident antisemitic remarks over the past few weeks, we were disturbed to learn that Adidas plans to continue to release new products from his Yeezy brand without any seeming acknowledgement of the controversy surrounding his most recent remarks.
‘We urge Adidas to reconsider supporting the Ye product line and to issue a statement making clear that the Adidas company and community has no tolerance whatsoever for antisemitism.’
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Adidas and Kanye West for comment.
Vile: The Friends actor, 55, shared a video of West, 45, saying: ‘The thing I can say about Adidas is, I can literally say anti-Semitic s**t and they can’t drop me’
Schwimmer has previously called out West over his anti-Semitic posts, taking to Instagram to brand the star a ‘bigot’.
Sharing an image of the word ‘bYE’, Schwimmer wrote: ‘Jews make up only 2.4 per cent of the population of the US but are the victims of more than 60 per cent of all religious hate crimes.
‘Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there’s no question he is a bigot.
‘His hate speech calls for violence against Jews. If you interpret his words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are racist.
‘If we don’t call someone as influential as Kanye out for his divisive, ignorant and anti-semitic words then we are complicit. Silence is complicity.’
West hit out at Adidas earlier this month after the company first announced that it has put ‘under review’ its business partnership with him.
Rally: Schwimmer captioned his post: ‘Now what, Adidas?’ before posting ‘Join me and the Anti-Defamation League in demanding Adidas #RunAwayFromHate’
Petition: Schwimmer shared a link to a petition from Campaign Against Antisemitism calling for West to be dropped -which has garnered more than 3000 signature
Post: Schwimmer has previously called out West over his anti-Semitic posts, taking to Instagram to brand the star a ‘bigot’
The rapper took to Instagram with a screenshot of the announcement, writing: ‘F**K ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.’
The German sporting goods maker revealed they were reviewing their business dealings with the outspoken musician following his very public criticism of the company and their CEO.
‘After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period,’ the company said.
CNBC, which first reported the news, said West had been publicly critical of Adidas and its CEO and told the broadcaster that the German group was copying his ideas. Adidas has been partnering with West since 2013, CNBC said.
Canceled: Kanye promised to ‘go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE’ in a shocking tweet earlier this month
Leading the way: Kanye has had a very successful partnership with the Germany based shoe giant with his Adidas Yeezy line which launched in 2015
Headache: Ye’s public disagreements with brands have created a corporate headache after other public figures like Sean Combs and Swizz Beatz declared a public boycott on Adidas
Moneymaker: The Yeezy brand earned $191 billion in royalties in 2020 from the Adidas deal, according to USB Group AG; Kanye pictured in 2019
‘Adidas has always been about creativity, innovation and supporting athletes and artists to achieve their vision. The adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history,’ Adidas said.
‘We also recognize that all successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values.’
Bloomberg reported that Ye holds $122 million cash and stock, but that his corporate deals make him a billionaire.
The Yeezy brand earned $191 billion in royalties in 2020 from the Adidas deal, according to USB Group AG.
Ye recently shocked fans when he wore a ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirt design at his surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris.
He later doubled down on his ‘White Lives Matter’ slogan and explained that when people ask why he made the shirt he replies that it’s because ‘They do.’
He is out: Kanye has lost a major business deal with fashion house Balenciaga. Seen in 2020
News about Adidas putting the partnership under review comes less than a month after West’s lawyers sent a letter to Gap Inc notifying the apparel chain he was terminating his partnership with the company.
Adidas’ statement comes amid an on-going public clash with Kanye who’s been continually going after the sportswear giant on his social media, as he says the company has pilfered his ideas and kept him out of the loop in terms of marketing the product.
In recent months West has ranted about the company, posted pictures of its board members, and called out CEO Kasper Rorsted, even creating fake image of a New York Times front page that claimed Rorsted had died.
Bye: Parent company Kering said the French fashion house would no longer be working on projects with the rapper. ‘Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,’ Kering told WWD. Seen on ABC
West has garnered support from a number of his contemporaries in the hip-hop community, such as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Swizz Beatz and T.I. who wowed to boycott the brand.
Earlier this month, Ye was on a social media blitz against the two clothing companies, accusing Adidas of seizing creative control over the Yeezy brand and stealing his design ideas to produce shoes similar to his Boost trainers. He also claimed that the shoe company ripped off his design for slides.
‘No one should be held in that position where people can steal from them and say we’re just paying you to shut up,’ he told Bloomberg. ‘That destroys innovation. That destroys creativity. That’s what destroyed Nikola Tesla.’
He’s hammered Adidas executives with a series of mocking Instagram posts until, he claims, his lawyers stepped in and asked him to stop.
In some of the posts, he superimposed Adidas executive Daniel Cherry’s head on another person’s body and created mocking videos of the corporate leader.
Ye also went after JPMorgan Chase, where he holds much of his money after switching from a small Wyoming bank, for not backing him in his war against the popular clothing brands.
‘I’ve went to JP Morgan but of course they won’t give me no deal flow cause Jin(g) Ulrich is on the board of both Adidas and JP Morgan. What shoe company will give me control. I need to be the head of the board and chief decision maker,’ he posted.
Jing Ulrich is the Chase vice chare of investment banking. Ye also tried to get banking titan Jamie Dimon on the phone, but was ghosted by the financier.
‘I feel like there’s a lot of controlling and handling to suppress my ability to affect the American economy and industry,’ the rapper said of Chase.
In July 2020, Gap stock dipped 7.4 percent after he threatened to pull out of deals with the clothing company a month after he signed the partnership with his Yeezy brand.
He threatened to do the same to the international sneaker maker, but their stock ended up for the day.
The musician’s public disagreements with the brands have created a corporate headache after other public figures like Sean Combs and Swizz Beatz declared a public boycott on Adidas.
Shocking the fans: Ye recently shocked fans when he wore a ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirt design at his surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris
Meanwhile, his ex wife Kim Kardashian, 42, still models for the French brand.
Parent company Kering said the French fashion house would no longer be working on projects with the rapper and fashion designer who has legally changed his name to Ye.
‘Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,’ Kering told WWD.
Earlier this month West made his surprise modelling debut at Paris Fashion Week.
The star opened Balenciaga’s SS23 show, walking down a muddy catwalk.
Demna, creative director of the luxury fashion brand, explained that the mud is ‘a metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth’.
The Georgian fashion designer explained: ‘Individualism in fashion is downgraded to pseudo trends dictated by a post in stories of some celebrity of the moment… fashion in its best-case scenario should not need a story to be sold to someone… let us let everyone be anyone.’
Muddy: The 45-year-old singer opened Balenciaga’s SS23 show, walking down a muddy catwalk. Demna, creative director of the luxury fashion brand, explained that the mud is ‘a metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth’
The ‘Good Morning’ hitmaker wore an oversized jacket, leather trousers, a baseball cap, and his hoodie over the top.
Among those in the audience was Kanye’s former sister-in-law Kylie Jenner, while Kanye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s brood – North, Chicago, Psalm, and Saint West – were seen arriving to the event with their father.
Kanye follows in the footsteps of SKIMS founder Kim, 41, in modelling for Balenciaga.
Earlier this year, the reality star turned heads wrapped in layers of yellow and black tape emblazoned with the Balenciaga name.
German sportswear giant Adidas on October 7 said it was reconsidering its partnership with West after the US rap star publicly criticized the brand. ‘After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review,’ the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ye has had trouble with Gap as well.
He accused Gap of ‘copying’ his work.
The rapper claimed the retailer ripped off ideas from his Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collaboration with their own designs.
His ex: Meanwhile, his ex wife Kim Kardashian still models for the French brand
He shared a message exchange with an unknown person, in which the texter had sent a link to a photo of a navy T-shirt with the Gap logo on the front along with the message: ‘This is Gap copying — YGEEB.’
Kanye replied: ‘Exactly.
‘Do you want me to post this text message?’
The ‘Stronger’ star used the caption of the post to air another grievance about the company, claiming they had axed a planned photoshoot with his kids without him knowing.
He wrote: ‘But they canceled the photo shoot with my kids in Japan without me knowing. (sic)’
In a separate post, Kanye claimed he had been cut out of meetings by Gap.
He shared a photo of some Yeezy Gap sunglasses and wrote: ‘Gap held a meeting about me without me?’
The ‘Bound 2’ hitmaker also shared a video in which he addressed a group, possibly of Gap staff.
He declared: ‘This is not celebrity marketing. This is not a collaboration. This is a life mission.’
And in a later post, Kanye hit out at both Gap and another of his collaborators, Adidas, for failing to fulfil a promise to build ‘permanent stores’ for their ventures.
Sharing his plan to open independent Yeezy stores around the world, beginning with Atlanta, he wrote: ‘I’ll buy the land and or building.
Then we gonna open up in every state and then internationally.
‘Anyone who has over 10 years retail experience and is ready to change the world post your instagram handle or store location in the comments and we’ll find you.
‘I signed with both Adidas and Gap because it contractually stated they would build permanent stores which neither company has done even though I saved both of those companies at the same time.’
He has a new love interest: The star has been dating Juliana Nalu, seen in a FAE Swimwear Campaign
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