Skechers has made its way into pop culture, via an Oct. 29 “Saturday Night Live” spoof on Kanye West‘s unauthorized visit to Skechers’ headquarters.
“SNL” cast members opened with a parody commercial that began with a weighty tone. The bit featured the actors as Skechers employees, rejecting the opportunity to work with West in any capacity: “Here at Skechers, we pride ourselves on two things, making stylish, comfortable shoes at an affordable price, and having zero tolerance for antisemitism,” said Cecily Strong, playing a Skechers employee.
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The segment then delves into a more comedic element as employees relish in how “insanely satisfying” it was to turn away West. “Two years ago, could you have imagined the headline: ‘Skechers too good for Kanye.'” Another staff member adds, “All we want is for people to know where Skechers stands, and for a little recognition how cool this makes us look.”
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On Oct. 26, the Skechers brand issued an official statement, saying, West “arrived unannounced and without invitation at one of Skechers’ corporate offices in Los Angeles, California. The statement added, “Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation. Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech. The company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
On Oct. 25, Adidas officially terminated their partnership with West after controversy regarding his series of antisemitic rants in interviews and on social media.
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