From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Adidas apologizes to Bella Hadid, says it’s ‘revisiting’ ad campaign for 1972 Olympic shoes
Amid backlash, Adidas has apologized to Palestinian-American model and activist Bella Hadid and to other spokesmodels over a scandal that has accompanied its new campaign for a reissue of a sneaker originally designed for the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 members of the Israeli team were killed in a Palestinian terror attack.
The athletic apparel company has removed Hadid from the campaign for the Adidas Originals line, under which the retro SL 72 sneakers are sold, and has said it is revisiting the campaign entirely, without elaborating on what this means.
The development comes amid reports that Hadid is considering suing Adidas for associating her with the Munich massacre.
“Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign,” says the statement posted Sunday to Instagram. “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.”
Hadid was among five celebrities hired for the campaign. Various Jewish and pro-Israel groups and institutions have singled her out as an inappropriate choice because of her harsh criticism of Israel.
Hadid, who was born in the United States but has Palestinian roots through her father, has been harshly critical of Israel in her activism on behalf of Palestinians since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 triggered the war in Gaza. She has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza — an allegation rejected as unfounded by Israel — and been accused by Israel and US Jewish groups of antisemitism.
