Adidas is investigating whether it ignored inappropriate behavior by Kanye West during their Yeezy partnership

The sportswear giant told Insider it was "not clear" whether accusations against the rapper were true and would examine them to reach a conclusion.

• Adidas is investigating whether it ignored alleged misconduct by Kanye West.  
• Rolling Stone reported this week that Yeezy staff were shown explicit material by the rapper.
• The magazine was told there was no probe into the alleged incident, despite some staff being aware.

Adidas will investigate whether Kanye West acted inappropriately following accusations that it ignored his alleged misconduct towards Yeezy staff, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The probe comes after a shareholder asked the German sportswear giant for answers about the alleged events, per the report.

An explosive report by Rolling Stone on Tuesday detailed how Yeezy staff were shown explicit material of Kim Kardashian by West, citing interviews with more than two dozen former Yeezy and Adidas staff.

West reportedly showed them an explicit video of his former wife in a Yeezy creative team meeting, per the report. 

Former Yeezy staff wrote an open letter, according to Rolling Stone, accusing Adidas of being aware of the rapper's "problematic behavior" and that it "turned their moral compass off." 

Adidas told Insider in a statement on Thursday that it was "not clear" if the accusations against the rapper, also known as Ye, were true. 

The company said: "However, we take these allegations very seriously and have taken the decision to launch an independent investigation of the matter immediately to address the allegations."

It added: "Adidas does not tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and therefore has terminated the adidas Yeezy partnership. We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with our employees about the events that lead to our decision to end the partnership. They have our full support and as we're working through the details of the termination." 

Five former Yeezy employees also told Rolling Stone that rumors of Ye telling staff to "make me a shoe I want to f***" had circulated around Yeezy and Adidas offices. They reportedly said that no investigation into the alleged incident took place.

"Adidas needs to disclose when the management and the supervisory board was first informed about the internal allegations," Jane Werning, head of ESG at Adidas shareholder Union Investment, told the Financial Times.

West's partnership with Adidas ended in October after nine years following his antisemitic remarks on Twitter.

Adidas terminated its Yeezy partnership with West last month and said it would take a $247 million hit to its profits as a result.