Jenna Ortega is tearing it up lately as she spins off from the first season of her Netflix hit show Wednesday into securing a sponsorship deal with Adidas. Now, Kanye fans are chiming in that they can’t believe the shoe company has replaced the disgraced rapper with the up-and-coming actress.
We doubt there’s any confusion in the Adidas offices; they’ve been in the business of celebrity collaboration — as Tailor Brand records in this history — since Adolf Dassler talked Jesse Owens into wearing his shoe in the 1936 Summer Olympics, where Owens went on to win four gold medals, launching the shoe company into the stratosphere. Almost a decade ago, according to Business Insider, Adidas signed Ye, who came up with the Yeezy brand and was making about $1 billion per year as of 2019. In just the last few months, the controversial rapper has watched his entire empire fall because of his antisemitic rants that have lost him a lot of respect in the music industry as well as millions of fans.
Adidas has since distanced itself from Ye, and has now hitched its wagon to Jenna Ortega’s star. However, there are still some Kanye West fans, and they’re wondering how Adidas could ever do such a thing.
With all of the bad press Ye is getting, who could possibly think this would be a good idea?
Ortega really hasn’t even had time to prove herself in the shoe sales arena yet, but is it really about her being in competition with him, or are fans making it out to be something it’s not?
One recurring comment illustrates how celebrities are judged on a sliding scale based on how the fan feels at the moment. Does Jenna have to know anything about sneakers to wear them in an ad? What does Michael Jordan know about underwear? Has that ever been a pertinent question?
What does Harry Styles know about Gucci? Not to pull the singer into a discussion that has nothing to do with him, but it helps to make the point.
Adidas said “F Kanye”… let’s get Jenna Ortega. Now I like that ONE Jenna Ortega project, wtf does she know about clothing? 😭😂
— LO. aka Welcome 2 The Dawn 💜💛 (@HeirToThePrince) February 3, 2023
And for the big question, how much does Kanye know about any of it?
Probably about as much as Kanye (who has no formal education within the field).
— Planetarion (@attenbro_david) February 3, 2023
For heated debates that have the ability to quickly go sideways, there will always be a need for logic to enter the space and hopefully make sense to those who don’t get it.
She’s not a designer lol she’s more of a face of the brand
— Saber (@saberisbatman) February 3, 2023
While Jenna Ortega fans buy the shoes — or, it would appear, the whole clothing line — Kanye fans can scratch their heads wondering how it all happened so fast. One thing’s for sure, the shoe company isn’t worried about getting him back, as they’ve made it very clear they’re fine moving on without him.