Adidas apologizes to Bella Hadid, says 'revisiting' ad campaign
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The model has consistently criticized the Israeli government and shown support for Palestinians, prompting "anti-Semitic" claims against her.
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Bella Hadid during a pro-Palestine rally in New York, USA, in September 2024 (Social media image)
Adidas has apologized to Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid and other spokesmodels, following her removal from adverts featuring the SL72 sports shoe, initially launched during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
The German-based sportswear giant announced it was "revising" its campaign following criticism from the Israeli occupation over Hadid's participation.
Adidas had promoted the shoes in a campaign that included Hadid, who faced criticism previously from the Israeli occupation government over her pro-Palestine stance, prompting "anti-Semitic" accusations against her.
The Israeli regime's official account on X objected to Hadid being "the face of [the Adidas] campaign," which is linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics during which Palestinian Resistance fighters carried out an operation that killed 11 Israelis.
The model has consistently criticized the Israeli government and shown support for Palestinians. On October 23, she posted on Instagram, lamenting the loss of innocent lives and urging her followers to pressure their leaders to protect civilians in Gaza without any anti-Semitic notions or statements, yet "Israel" continued its allegations.
Adidas issued a statement in which it stressed that the SL72 campaign "unites a broad range of partners" and acknowledged the unintended connections to historical events, apologizing for any distress caused.
According to TMZ, Hadid is getting ready for a legal battle with Adidas, as sources told them that she has hired legal counsel to take on Adidas. Sources familiar with the matter told TMZ that Bella wants to take action against Adidas for their lack of public accountability.
The Adidas statement posted to Instagram states that “connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign,” adding that “these connections are not meant and we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, ASAP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign.”
