Reebok claims recent reports that Beyonce walked out of a meeting after seeing no diversity on its staff is false.
A day after it was announced Beyoncé would be collaborating with Adidas by having her own line in the clothing and shoe company, ESPN writer Nick DePaula reported Bey previously walked out of a meeting with Reebok after seeing no diversity on the staff.
“Throughout this process over the last year or two,” DePaula told the hosts of ESPN’s “The Jump,” “she had discussed with Under Armour, with Reebok as well, Jordan [and Nike] at one point was interested in maybe partnering with her. 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?’” DePaula continued: “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.”
“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. It’s about having an imprint on the company and an impact in terms of diversity,” he concluded.
But now Reebok is denying the reports in a statement. “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,” a Reebok spokesperson said in a statement.
There are no reports on when the singer’s collection will drop with Adidas. Beyoncé’s team has yet to respond to requests for comment.
