French rapper cuts ties with Puma over sanctions
French rapper Elie Yaffa, better known under his stage name Booba, said he is cutting ties with Puma after the company announced the closure of its stores in Russia in response to the country’s military campaign against Ukraine.
“If you leave, I leave. If you engage in politics, I must do it too,” the artist wrote on social media on Monday, reacting to the news of the sportswear giant suspending sales and deliveries to Russia. In a separate post, Yaffa wrote that he had “not signed up for this.”
Yaffa later confirmed that he decided to end his partnership with Puma, as quoted by Le Figaro. The rapper became a company brand ambassador in 2020 and was the face of Puma’s sneakers campaign in France.
Puma joined the long list of popular brands and companies, including fellow sportswear giants Nike and Adidas, that vowed to suspend all operations in Russia in recent weeks. The US, UK, and EU member states were among many countries that imposed sweeping sanctions on the country.
Russia insisted that it was forced to attack its neighbor late last month to defend the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which broke away from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Moscow further said it wanted Ukraine to officially declare itself a neutral country, renouncing its bid to one day join NATO.
Kiev said the attack was entirely unprovoked and appealed to the international community for help.
