Adidas apologizes for “any upset or inconvenience” caused by the inclusion of Bella Hadid, a model of Palestinian descent, in advertising the reintroduction of its sneakers for the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The sportswear company chose Hadid as the face of its recently launched SL72 campaign, which celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics by reviving the “coveted classic” Adidas sneaker from the ’70s. However, the 1972 Munich Olympics were overshadowed by a terrorist attack in which 11 Israeli athletes and a German policeman were killed by a Palestinian militant group amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, describes herself as a “proud Palestinian.”
“We recognize that connections have been made to tragic historical events – even if they were completely unintentional – and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” Adidas said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “As a result, we are revising the rest of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to promote diversity and equality in everything we do.”
Adidas SL72 ads feature Hadid wearing Adidas clothing, holding flowers and showing off her sneakers. “Giving Bella Hadid her flowers in the SL 72,” reads a tweet from Adidas Originals. But after the company apologized and promised to revamp the campaign, all tweets featuring Hadid were deleted from Adidas Originals’ X account and Instagram. As of Thursday afternoon, Hadid is still featured on Adidas’ website.
The American Jewish Committee called on Adidas to correct the “egregious error.”
“At the 1972 Munich Olympics, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. For Adidas to choose a stridently anti-Israel model to commemorate those dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or deliberately inflammatory. Neither is acceptable,” the AJC wrote on X on Thursday.
At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, twelve Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group “Black September”.
For Adidas to choose a stridently anti-Israel model to commemorate these dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is the case… https://t.co/kNWw2cIsB9
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 18, 2024
Hadid is a vocal supporter of Palestine and frequently uses her platform to speak out against Palestinians affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In December 2017, she protested against former President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, writing at the time: “The TREATMENT of the Palestinian people is unfair, one-sided and should not be tolerated. I stand with Palestine.” Last month, Hadid and her sister, fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid, donated $1 million to Palestinian relief efforts, according to the BBC.
Footballer Jules Koundé, rapper A$AP Nast, musician Melissa Bon and model Sabrina Lan also appear in the campaign and all continue to feature on Adidas’ various social media accounts.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Adidas apologizes for using Palestinian model Bella Hadid in shoe ad
