Beyonce

Beyoncé Allegedly Declined Reebok Deal Due To Lack Of Diversity

Just after it was announced that she has partnered with Adidas to relaunch her Ivy Park athleisure line, it has been reported that Beyoncé declined an offer with competitor Reebok—but the reasoning had nothing to do with money.

Beyoncé recently announced that she is gearing up to relaunch her Ivy Park line with everything it had before, but this new incarnation with also include a signature shoe with the help of Adidas. However, another sports retail giant approached her with a deal first, Reebok to be exact, but their lack of diversity kept them from doing business with the singer.

While appearing on ESPN’s The Jump, writer Nick DePaula detailed that Beyoncé declined to work, reportedly walking out of a business meeting, with Reebok because they don’t represent her personal experience as black woman.

DePaula explained:

“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. 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?’”

He continued, adding:

“Somebody said, ‘Yes,’ and she said, ‘Nobody in this room reflects by 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 Beyoncé 1, or whatever they end up calling it. It’s about having an imprint on the company and an impact in terms of diversity.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CLIP.

At press time, there is no official word regarding when the newly relaunched Ivy Park will be available to customers.

What do you think of this news? Let us know in the comments!