Last week, Beyonce and Adidas announced their new partnership. Back in 2016, Beyonce launched her Ivy Park label of athleisure-wear, which was then in partnership with TopShop. Ivy Park bought out its stake in TopShop last year, and ever since then, Beyonce has been meeting with various sportswear companies, looking to partner up with someone new. Adidas won out and Beyonce called it “a partnership of a lifetime” and she will still have a major hand in designing, branding, advertising and more. Adidas is happy too, because they’re now business partners with friggin’ BEYONCE. But people had questions – why Adidas? Why not some other athletic brand? What did Adidas offer her that no one else did? Or put it another way, why did she outright reject other labels? On ESPN, a sportswriter had some gossip:
Writer Nick DePaula shared the story during an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, explaining Beyonce’s new partnership with Adidas is about more than just throwing her name on athletic wear.
‘For her, it really goes beyond that. It’s not just about putting her name on a shoe and here’s the new Adidas Beyonce 1, or whatever they end up calling it,’ he said. ‘It’s about having an imprint on the company and an impact in terms of diversity.’
With Beyonce having more than 126 million Instagram followers, it’s no surprise that brands were lining up to try and work with her, but DePaula made it clear that the singer practices what she preaches when it comes to inclusion and representation.
‘Throughout this process over the last year or two, she had discussed with Under Armour, with Reebok as well, Jordan [at Nike] at one point was interested in maybe partnering with her,’ he said on The Jump. ‘She had a meeting at Reebok and they had a whole presentation of everything, potential products, how this could all look, and she kind of took a step back and said, ‘Is this the team that will be working on my product?’ Somebody said, ‘Yes,’ and she said, ‘Nobody in this room reflects my background, my skin color and where I’m from and what I want to do.’ So she took a step back and left and then it did not come to terms.’
LOL, Reebok should have known better. Now they’re canceled! The Beyhive is going to be burning Reebok sh-t for years now. Reebok knows the story looks bad for them too, because they quickly issued a statement:
A rep for Reebok told Dailymail.com: ‘The report that Beyoncé walked out of a meeting with Reebok due to lack of diversity is categorically false. Our discussions with Beyoncé and her team continued for several months after our initial meeting. We are disappointed that false information is being reported as fact.’
That’s the thing about Beyonce no longer giving interviews and just letting her actions speak for themselves – she’ll never come out and verbally confirm or deny the story. Do you believe Beyonce would leave a corporate meeting just because she looked around and realized that everyone in the room was a white bro? I do. And that’s just my assumption on the white bro thing – from what I’ve seen, the corporate culture of sportswear/athleisure-wear companies is just the same as corporate culture everywhere else: dominated by white bros. There are some corporations who do specialized divisions for women, divisions which actually hire (gasp) women and women of color. Adidas must be one of them.
ESPN Writer @NickDePaula reveals Beyoncé walked out of a meeting w/ @Reebok after she highlighted the pitch team's lack of diversity & non-existent representation of her background and skin color. 👑
He also talks about Bey getting offers from Jordan (@Jumpman23) & @UnderArmour. pic.twitter.com/J2P3cvGw6I
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@BeyLegion) April 5, 2019
Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s Instagram.
I really hope she did!
I believe it. I’m sure the ESPN dude wouldn’t have spoken about it like that unless he was sure of his source
I don’t like how people praise Beyonce for “not talking.” To me, it’s terrible. It some significant ways, it sends the wrong message.
I don’t care if she never addresses foolish gossip or trolls. What bothers me is when she doesn’t speak up when such stories are circulating that can damage someone else and that she doesn’t tell her silly Beyhive to not bully and attack harmless people.
I agree. And yes, addressing gossip is silly. But that’s not what bothers me, exactly, either. In a way, I feel like she is subtly (and undoubtedly subconsciously) perpetuating the idea that certain people should “shut their mouths.” I don’t know. It’s tough to put into words. But it makes me uncomfortable when folks praise her to the hilts for not talking.
Ader, I understand what you’re expressing here. but, in B’s world, her not speaking isn’t because she’s not allowed to, it’s because she doesn’t HAVE to…in a way, it gives her MORE power. she knows she doesn’t have to shut her mouth, she chooses to.
in THIS instance, I think her speaking out would not be perpetuating gossip, OR (and this is why she stays silent, IMO) feeding into it. I think that, in THIS instance, her speaking out would be beneficial. it’s a perfect opportunity for her to say “yes, it’s true…and if companies want to work with and make money off of POC, they need to be actively EMPLOYING POC.”
I agree with you, whatWhAT, for the most part.
But, I’m still not convinced that not talking is some power move. I think people like to think of it that way, but really it’s operating in the opposite way. More than that, though, I’m most concerned with people praising her for not speaking than the not speaking…lol…if that makes sense.
And, yes, I agree. This is one instance where she SHOULD speak out if it’s true.
@Loopy, Ader & WhatWhat? How about, Reebok, a $$$$$ corporation, speak up THEMSELF, and not expect this woman to correct false gossip that could hurt their brand. Putting it on Beyonce is foolish and weak, and her not talking is what that feminist has decided to do.
@Cali
I think you’re misunderstanding my point.
Black women, through socialization, are constantly told to go to proverbial back of the bus. Studies show that people are less likely to listen to us, and when they do, they often misinterpret what we say.
Now, with those facts in mind, take a step back and think about the IMPACT of praising a Black, female celebrity for “not talking.” What message does that send?
As for your argument that Rebook should speak for themselves… I’m not sure I get your point. Why would they call attention to their own lack of diversity? Clearly, they don’t think it’s a problem. You’re kind of insinuating that Black people should not speak up in the face of systemic racism.
@Ader, I agree and disagree, yes more influential people could send stronger messages, but I also believe that if Beyonce decides that she doesn’t want to sit for interviews very often then that is her right. There is far too much accountability placed on celebrities to be what we want them to be when they are still flawed individuals judged harshly. And Beyonce was constantly teased and degraded for her southern accent and “poor-uneducated” speaking skills when this could be attributed to plain old anxiety eating at her, she always seemed nervous when speaking publicly, and what is she to do about her southern accent, but adopt a fake one. I’m sure this hurt her but because she’s rich and famous she’s immune I guess. I can’t say I’d go through those emotions so I am fine with her speaking through her music or whatever mechanisms she decides to speak through. I can’t say I’m praising her, but I understand her decision.
And as for Reebok, not speaking up about systemic racism is Not what I’m saying at all. Reebok seems pissed and says the rumors are false so it’s their responsibility to correct false information and I can hear a not so subtle diss towards Beyonce in their statement too for not correcting this which is outrageous and placing blame on her for not protecting their brand when an immediate statement by them could have killed the rumor from circulating for weeks, but but her emails.
@Cali
Sure, but my main gripe is with people praising her for not talking. It establishes a terrible standard. If she doesn’t want to talk, fine. But I feel like sometimes people hold it up as some sort of standard to emulate.
I kinda see what you’re saying about Rebook, but I guess I just don’t see the subtle shade towards Beyonce in their statement.
Ultimately, I think we’re on the same page, just nuanced differences, really.
“WhatWhat? How about, Reebok, a $$$$$ corporation, speak up THEMSELF, and not expect this woman to correct false gossip that could hurt their brand. Putting it on Beyonce is foolish and weak, and her not talking is what that feminist has decided to do.”
um, that’s not AT ALL what I suggested, don’t put words in my mouth. if you read what I wrote, I said it’s her choice to say something or nothing. I SUPPORT her choice to remain silent. the ONLY thing I suggested she might speak out on is that companies need to be more diverse in their hiring if they expect to work with diverse clients.
“Not talking” is a childish power game.
No, it’s not. It’s an option she took, and that many others should follow *hint*
I think it’s a brilliant move for her to decline interviews and present it as her being mysterious and unaccessible. I remember when she did do interviews – the Dreamgirls press campaign comes to mind – and her verbal communication skills aren’t her strong point. (To be fair a lot of people have the same issue; ever sit through a Nicole Kidman or Robert Deniro interview? Yeesh.) I’m not sure if it’s online but her Letterman appearance for Dreamgirls was one of the more painful things I had seen on that show.
That said if this story is true, good for her for using her power for good.
This is just what I mean, anyone intelligent sees through the “mysterious and unaccessible” bull.
The only good thing about her not talking is that it really highlights how thirsty, unreasonable, and bigoted some are in their contempt and disdain for her. With other liberal public figures who are women and women of color, people see all their Problematic and their Annoying and their Messy because they talk (on top of any suspicious, annoying, messy, or problematic actions they may ever take in life). Removing that element makes the petty and the irrational more obvious in the performative hate. I see your point though about why it’s uncomfortable in the 21st century to see that as positive, and why it’s uncomfortable that that kind of pressure.
…exists. That’s what I meant to say.
I believe it! Sounds standard.
She bought out not from HM, but from top shop
All jobs should be attained on merit, I don’t believe in quotas, based on gender or ethnicity. If your the most qualified you should get the job end of. Complaining because a board room doesn’t look the way you want it to, negates the ability of those in that room. All sporting brands are traditionally male dominated in order to change that you have to recruit straight out of university and put in the time to ensure the correct training is given in order for your employees to thrive. You don’t just start hiring women and people of colour to tick a box and score brownie points in the media.
Girl wut. Are you suggesting there are no qualified female candidates? We make up a little over half of the workforce and out of those millions and millions of women and people of color, they hired NONE to top spots? And if they had it would be a “quota filling” hire?
Yikes. I wonder what it’s like to think that way. Must be nice and easy to be someone who’s never been passed up for promotions for an endless stream of mediocre white dudes.
*sigh*
This is the mindset of probably every top executive. It must be nice to have such a cavalier attitude like yours.
I will never ever forget the time I got called in for an interview. They already had my resume so they knew my qualifications. The minute I walked in, all of the sudden I was no longer qualified for the job. She picked apart my qualifications saying I needed more experience in a particular area. I’m sitting there like “bitch you had my resume so you knew my work history!” She then showed me around the department and no one looked like me so needless to say I didn’t get hired.
This sh@t happens every day. People who are more than capable of doing a job and have the qualifications get passed over for jobs and promotions because they don’t look like most of the people there.
BlueSky, my heart aches as I read your story. I can remember in law school being a summer associate at a large law firm. One of the departments had a male summer associate and me working for them for two weeks. He was given all sorts of work and taken to meetings. I got nothing. I was told years later by some of the associates that it was a gender-driven decision to freeze me out. Then when I was a young lawyer, I had clients not trust me because of my age and gender. One client was so disbelieving that I could possibly understand all the big words in the document he was about to sign. He started aggressively questioning my knowledge of tax code provisions in the document, making me go through the boilerplate language to prove myself. To his credit, he apologized after I thoroughly explained every sentence, but I know that the younger male associate didn’t have those kinds of encounters.
You’re so out of touch, it’s painful. Requiring someone who has your life experience is not a quota, it actually is a qualification. That’s why we had the Gucci, Prada, Montcler, so on and so on racial debacles. Buy a blue.
Oh dear….
Well, since major sporting brands are not salivating and panting to get you signed, it doesn’t really matter what you believe, does it?
You know whose thoughts on this do matter?
Beyonce’s.
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
😂😂😂
People like Elizabeth disgust me. Her views is partly why there is affirmative action. People assume that women and people of color are unqualified. It’s there to help even the playing field. If 400 people (100 white men, 100 black men, 100 white women, 100 black women) applied for a job with the same resume, 99 positions would be filled by white men. Minorities don’t have the opportunities to prove themselves because the default is white men.
Google “Jan Fran Merit Man” if this link doesn’t work, for some perspective on how white middle class men always turn up with all the “merit”
https://www.facebook.com/janfran/videos/2278805055703560/
Wow you must be in executive leadership at a major athletic apparel brand. You sound like you know exactly what it takes to recruit talent, grow and retain it.
Actually no – you sound like someone who never has worked a day in that industry in your life and don’t understand the various roles and qualifications those companies look and hire for…so thanks for your opinion but it’s ignorant so please keep it.
Ohhhh boy. All I’ll say is that after the current scandal of rich white people buying their children’s way into college, how can you possibly assume that the white dudebros (and their female equivalent) running things got where they got because of merit?! White guys have been using the old buddy system for internships and jobs since the beginning of time and after that, there is research that shows that people hire candidates that look like themselves which perpetuates the boardroom full of white men and women.
I also just saw a black woman scientist talking about how her much less experienced and qualified white male colleague continually doubted and dismissed her research, all while admitting he didn’t really know what he was talking about. I mean examples are all around…but sure, you can continue to say ignorant things like quotas blah blah.
Okay I have to stop now…I’m actually sweating from trying to rein in my reply lol.
Ew, this comment. Except as someone with a job in a traditionally white-male dominated field (and now, tons of white women who somehow count as ‘diverse for quota purposes), I actually pay attention to everyone’s credentials. I promise you, it’s not the white people who went to the top schools where I work, it’s the people of color. It’s actually crazy once you calculate the stats.
You sound about white.
Yes ALL White men deserve the top jobs and high pay they have right? Nepotism, sexism, and racism all played a role in how a lot of those white men got to the top. They, more often than not, are the LEAST qualified to be doing the job they have. I have worked with MANY White men and White women who were promoted so easily and yet lacked the education and experience to be promoted. It happens all the time.
And also sounds about male…
I’m so glad so many people responded to this comment.
Elizabeth, people who are qualified should get the job. however, all too often the top qualifications are “white” and “male”.
I’m sure you’ve read all the studies how, when people put in resumes for jobs, someone’s NAME was enough to get them in for an interview (think “Robert MacNamara” or “Steve Simpson”, or get them immediately tossed out (think “Manuel Rodrigues” or “Tomesha Jackson”). Identical resumes were submitted under various names. Guess who got the interviews, like 90% of the time? The male “white sounding” names. Yes, discrimination still exists and if you really believe that all those white men are in positions of power because they were more qualified than all the other candidates, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.
Elizabeth … have you ever worked with a mediocre white dude? We ALL have. ALL of us.
That is why affirmative action exists!!!! Not because there aren’t enough white dudes but because there are women and people of color who hold business degrees and who play sports. There are. There are millions of us in America … you don’t think there are darker people with talent and business degrees???? Come on. Enough.
Elizabeth, it must be nice to go about in the world incredibly naive. If you think the existing system is based on merit, let me tell you, Santa’s real as is The Tooth Fairy and Sandman.
Some folks…
In an ideal world, sure, all jobs would be based on merit, and they would be naturally diverse because people of all races and genders have talent! But this is the real world, where white males get a distinct advantage in pretty much every industry, and many of those non white males with merit are discriminated against before we can even get a foot in the door.
In this selfie obsessed culture, I would imagine somewhere is a photograph or 2 of the meeting at Reebok, and I’d like to see them prove there was diversity in that room…
Also, it’s “you’re” not “your,” and don’t end a sentence with a preposition.
If folks can find the video of Coach Muffet McGraw’s (Notre Dame women’s basketball, I think) powerful recent statement on the under-representation of women in sports and in power generally, please view it.
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trsrn1ZZJNY
Elizabeth, this ain’t it. I watched a white male colleague butcher a female infants face putting in some of the sloppiest sutures I have ever seen. He coasted into medical school on money, ran through his residency on legacy then was hired because his grandfather was on the board of directors. He wasn’t qualified to be a doctor and I watched him disfigure a child then he had the brass clackers to yell at me in front of the entire floor for undermining him.
He wasn’t there on merit, in fact you would shudder to know how many of your doctors you are being treated by who aren’t there on merit, but rather connections.
Everyone looks at my black behind when I walk in and automatically assume I’m just Doctor Diversity and not there on my own merits. I’m here to tell you all that white “merit” is about 50/50, you come across a person of color in a higher position its because we fought tooth and nail to be better than the best so they can’t ignore us.
Honey, tell that to my sister when she walked into a top law firm for an interview as a Paralegal with a cum laude degree from a known college and imagine her surprise when she was told that she would be a great receptionist.
Oh no no no Elizabeth. That isn’t the case in any sense of historical hiring practices, and they’re only now approaching prospects of losing voters, clients, shareholders, viewers, customers, students, et al because of diversification issues and ethics. Women and ethnic diversity have faced unimaginable obstacles even in the face of being overqualified and overeducated. The private sector has taken its pathetic time concerning inclusion.
Half of humans are women, and a hell of a lot of us have college degrees and are excellent in any and all our endeavors. Right here, right now, in my orbit I can name extraordinary and intellectually superior people from India, Pakistan, Saudi, Venezuela, Chile, South Korea, Mexico and of course here…black, hispanic, Arab, etc. You should speak to their trials and tribulations in overcoming prejudicial hurdles and horrors endured in the workplace.
People like you are why we could face civil war. There’s this notion of the way things are that’s completely opposite of the way things actually are. Hell, I’m a white woman and I’ve seen it all my life!!! I’m educated. Was once a looker and had no problem finding work, and even then, EVEN THEN, I was sexually harassed at most places…by a vast ubiquitous network of entitled white ass dudes ages 21 to 92. In adding POC, other nationalities and accents, sexual diversity (in other words, anything other than the f@cking white man) shit has collectively hit the fan throughout the workplace, in both the public and the scary ass private sectors, throughout the decades up until this very moment. Shame on ignorance. Shame on the other side of the coin and shame on diplomacy. Equality is a f#cking conversation that has no OTHER SIDE. You get it or you don’t. You fight for it or you actually don’t believe in it. You’re a human being or you’re not.
If everyone could just be like you the world would be much more pleasant to live in !
That sounds like a Nickelback song lol.
Humans like Elizabeth make me so scared for the future 🙁
The Merit argument is some low key sexist white supremacist bs. Do you really think that they white men in these boardrooms merited their position over women and minorities? News flash, that’s often not the case.
So much bigoted nonsense in your comment. Were you recruited out of college for your job as a troll, Elizabeth? Does it pay well and comes with benefits, Elizabeth?
Incorrect, and some of the largest companies in the world are realising this now. For starters, it’s never a straight meritocracy, even if those hiring intend it to be. Why?
1. We all have unconscious biases. There are numerous studies proving that women, POC, immigrants and especially WOC suffer from the unconscious biases of those hiring. You can start by looking at the way they overcame this in symphony orchestras and also the studies where they sent out identical resumes with male and female names on them or white and ethnic sounding names. To overcome these biases, programs and affirmative action are needed.
2. Women are not hired and promoted on the same basis as men. It is shown that women are punished for being too brilliant and accomplished whereas men are not. Average women who are deemed non-threatening and “likeable” are more likely to get hired than top performing women. Men are rewarded for being the best, women are punished. Studies support this.
3. Women do not ask for promotions and pay rises as much as men. There are two main reasons for this: 1. Cultural indoctrination. 2. Women who are too “forward” are seen as “demanding” and are punished in the workplace. Women who ask for promotions and pay rises in the same manner as men are often punished. They are seen in a completely different light to their male counterparts and are not rewarded in the same ways. Therefore telling women just to ask for more is ineffective and counterproductive. Again, this is backed by studies. And again, the only way to fix this is from the top.
Businesses do better, succeed more, and appeal to a wider customer/client base when they are more diverse from top to bottom. That is a proven fact. That is why smart businesses are now trying to enact programs to ensure that they are more diverse. I am sure that Reebok’s customers are not all white dudes. Therefore, if their staff is majority white dudes they are handicapping themselves when it comes to reaching the pinnacle of where they want to be.
Meritocracy my arse.
I agree that more diversity on the top is important. I’ve recently switched companies and have been shocked at how white and make the upper offices are. But for this situation, a better plan would have been to ask them to make the required changes during the contract negotiations going forward, assuming Reebok was ever truly int he running,
As an aside and a TOTALLY unpopular opinion: I cannot stand Beyonce. Her head is so far up her own BLEEP.
Wow deezee i have found the only other person in the world who doesn’t worship beyonce!
Yeah I don’t worship the ground she walks on either… love her music tho
The non-Black women I encounter who are crazy Beyonce fans are the type of women with pronounced implicit bias problems who seem to “use” their Beyonce fandom as some sort of “See! I’m not racist!” shield.
I’m not talking about ALL fans; just the really crazy ones. The Ones that almost fetishsize her.
Yeah not a fan of her or her music really. It’s just meh to me. And the worship others have for her, just makes me dislike her even more.
“a better plan would have been to ask them to make the required changes during the contract negotiations”
but why should anyone have to TELL Reebok to be more diverse? if they choose NOT to be diverse in their upper management or their design team, it says a LOT about them as a company. they knew who they were meeting with. they chose an all white team. why is it Beyoncé’s (or ANY person of color’s) responsibility to school a company on their lack of diversity?
Beyoncé (or any POC) telling them they have to hire more diversely kind of defeats the purpose. Reebok showed her what kind of management they believe in, and she declined to work with them.
She told them through her actions what would work for her.
I never said that hiring was the issue. There are probably others working at the company that could have been brought on to the team. And why are you assuming the diversity is a race thing? Maybe there were no women in the room? Or maybe no one representing LGBTQ people?
@deezee
You normally don’t go around a boardroom asking what people’s sexual preference is so there is NO WAY anyone can claim lack of representation of the LGBTQ community in a board room UNLESS they outright asked, which is illegal I believe.
“I never said that hiring was the issue. There are probably others working at the company that could have been brought on to the team.”
true, and yet they weren’t, even though Reebok knew who they were meeting with. and unless you live under a rock (in fact, even if you DO live under a rock) you’d know that Beyoncé is someone who champions lifting up people of color, women especially. she often tells the (female) black experience through her songs/videos. for a company to think it would be OK to throw a non-diverse team together for B means they likely didn’t have the diversity to throw. either that or they didn’t think it mattered. bad calculation by them on either option.
“And why are you assuming the diversity is a race thing? Maybe there were no women in the room? Or maybe no one representing LGBTQ people?”
you’re right, it could have been a gender thing. however, my comments still stand, whether it was a race OR a gender thing. they knew who they were meeting with, they chose a team that didn’t reflect her background. she shouldn’t have to educate Reebok on knowing your client and providing a diverse team when it’s appropriate. as for your theory on it being a LGBTQ issue, that’s not something that is always apparent by physical appearance like gender or race, so I doubt that was it. and, as “me” said, that’s not something that she likely asked around the table of people present.
bottom line is that she, as a potential partner, should not have to educate a huge company like Reebok on what’s an appropriate team for the potential partner. you give someone a chance to work with you, they show you that they aren’t the right company based on their initial choices for you. if you have to TELL them what they did wrong, and they change their course of action solely because you TOLD them to, and not because it’s the right thing to do, why bother? why not go with someone who gets it right from the get-go?
it’s like telling your SO that he/she isn’t supposed to cheat on you AFTER they do so, and they say “OH, I didn’t know that!” why not be with someone who won’t cheat on you WITHOUT you telling them that it’s wrong?
Reebok is owned by Adidas, so I’m not quite sure I believe the “reveal”.
Yeah adidas owns Reebok so if this happened the story is more…”I’m so angered by your lack of diversity that I am going to leave this room and continue to work with you!” 🙄 Please, it didn’t happen.
Before jumping on someone’s bandwagon, get your facts straight, people.
Exactly this. At best she moved to a different room in the same building. The same white men at the top will cash in. Now I’m not saying she shouldn’t be cashing in too (seriously, good for her) but to try and position this as some great demonstration of solidarity and resistance is utter nonsense.
But they may have different leadership teams. Perhaps the Adidas team has more diversity or is more interested in marketing to a more ethnic market, etc. Maybe she wasn’t protesting the ownership/top (as, let’s be honest, those would almost always be white men), but the actual pitch team they sent her.
@BYTHESEA, then that should be the story.
Yeah, I’m side-eyeing this too. It just seems like a PR plant: Beyonce so woke that she walks out of meeting with Reebok due to diversity issues. And her Netflix special comes out next week, quelle surprise.
Ivy Park partnered with TopShop, I believe, not H&M. Vastly different brands with different company models.
My money is ready.
As long as she doesn’t partner with Nike, it’s all good.
Why? I like what they’ve done with Colin K. And Serena.
Remember the dog killer Michael Vick…yah that one. Nike hired him for an endorsement deal
Ivy Park was partners with Topshop, not H&M. And the reasons for the split was because of Philip Green’s (the owner of Topshop) sexual and racial abuse allegations and how he got the British press to stop reporting about them.
The leadership at my company is predominantly white male and our vendors reflect that. Well, my team decided to do something about that and came up with a proposal to use 2 new vendors who are women and minority owned companies. Guess what? We were told that our department is trying to slim down the number of vendors we use, not expand to new vendors.
People are painfully out of touch. I’m in the legal profession and companies are demanding that firms diversify (which is wonderful), but I’ve so much pushback and a lot of this “quota” BS.
ItReallyIsYou,NotMe you need to become friends with Elizabeth. XO
actually, it sounds to me like ItReallyIsYou,NotMe was trying to get her company to be more diverse and her company nixed it.
so, the opposite of Elizabeth.
WhatWhat is right, we were trying to get our company to diversify and the attempt was nipped in the bud. It was very discouraging.
Ugh, sorry to hear that. Don’t give up though!
I wish she had partnered with a company other than Adidas. They designed a pair of hitop sneakers not too long ago that had shackles attached to them, they pulled them after they caused an uproar.
And they still partner with Kanye. I won’t be spending my money at Adidas.
I forgot about the Kanye deal!! Thanks for the reminder.
I’m glad she didn’t do Underarmour because their stuff is fug.
And their CEO is a Trump supporter.
Young black people MADE athletic leisure trendy. It’s because of black athletes and rappers why Reebok, Nike, Addidas and others are the conglomerates they are and it’s a travesty that there is no representation in their executive offices. Beyonce WAS right to walk away!
I am far from a Beyonce stand. There are some things she does and represent that I’m not completely with (like this trademark battle she is in), but there are times when I have to applaud her. She played the game for a long time and earned a position where she can demand things that are important to her – in this case, representation. Michael Jordan made millions off the backs of black kids and did he demand representation with his power?
As a female fencer, very few companies (other than adidas and a small handful of others) even bother to make women’s fencing clothes so I have to be an adidas fan. Regardless of that, I hope this story is true. I’m not a hive member but the idea of a woman using her success as such a powerful tool to push diversity is fabulous. Every big company trumpets that they “support diversity” but so few actually do anything about it. All puffery. So for B to cut through the B.S. makes me do a Snoopy happy dance. I become a hive member after all.
Good for you! Fencing is such and underrated sport. I wish more kids would give it a chance.
I’ll never forget walking into my first lecture hall, I was THE only black woman. I wanted to run AWAY but I was 8 hours from home & the 2nd person in my family to go to college. That shit is difficult asf & that was 18 yrs ago, I still can’t stand being the only Black woman in ANY space. I don’t even go in BUSINESESS if I can’t see black people from the outside windows, it jus isn’t welcoming. KUDOS to her she has the power & can walk out & they are the ones missing out on US.
I hear you there. I’m always so aware of being the only POC wherever I go. It just sort of makes you feel “oh I don’t belong here” even though that may not even be the case. There is a Park I go to regularly when the weather is good. I only see White people there for some reason. I start to wonder what they think of me “oh no there goes the neighborhood !”. I can’t help think these things because so many White people actually believe these things about us.