Ye Calls The adidas Adilette 22 A Fake Yeezy Slide

adidas and their new Adilette 22 silhouette have been making waves online and with consumers, selling out quickly during their early morning restocks on adidas.com and through overseas retailers. Their popularity seems to come from the fact that they resemble one of The Three Stripe's hottest slides, the adidas Yeezy Slide, often being compared to the limited-instant-sellout model. Though it has been quiet since Ye burst into 2022 with his Donda 2 Listening Party and controversy surrounding his harassment online of Pete Davidson, the mogul took to Instagram to bash his footwear partner's recent addition to their slide offerings, just weeks out from yet another restock on the Yeezy Slide.

In his Instagram caption that coincided with a low-quality screenshot of the Magic Lime colorway of the Adilette 22, Ye mentions that he isn't “...standing for this blatant copying no more…” harkening back to his days of calling out Nike when we still had his Air Yeezy line. He also drew comparisons to himself as William Wallace, the main character in Braveheart, with an extended portion of the post talking about bravery and stating “This Ye with the blue paint on my face…” As the caption comes to a close, Ye believes this is a power move by adidas, disrespecting those underneath them, and calls out the shoes as “a fake Yeezy made by adidas themselves…” He’s also looking to have a conversation with adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted about the entire situation. This thrashing comes just a few years after Ye blasted both adidas and GAP about wanting a higher position within both brands, publicly stating he would leave his deals with each respective company unless he was put on the board.

It isn't too far out there to see Ye call out those around him, who he works with, or who he feels are disrespecting him, as in the past he tweeted out his love of Jordan Brand by wearing a pair of Court Purple AJ1’s as well as posting the Jumpman logo on his Instagram page and tagging Marcus Jordan and DJ Khaled. This isn't the first time adidas has taken inspiration from Yeezy silhouettes for their GR sneakers with many drawing similarities between the Ozweego and Yeezy 700 as well as the adidas Tubular and the iconic Yeezy 350. With his contract with adidas set to expire in 2026, could Ye be on the way out with the footwear giant that catapulted his net worth and grasp within the fashion industry? Only time will tell what Ye is planning on next. For more updates on this situation and more within the sneaker and streetwear realm, keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app. For a full rundown on upcoming Yeezy releases, check out our redesigned Yeezy Release Calendar. For a full rundown on the Yeezy Slide silhouette, check out our Yeezy Slide Buyers Guide and our Yeezy Slide Release Date page for the latest upcoming releases

Nicholas Vlahos

Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy watching films and discovering music. Follow me on Letterboxd @nickvlah For tips, reviews, or any shoes in a size 13, email nick@soleretriever.com