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Supermodel Bella Hadid posted a statement about her recent involvement in an Adidas campaign that relaunched a shoe from the Munich Olympics in 1972, when Israeli athletes were killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists.
“I would never knowingly engage in any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” she wrote in an Instagram story.
“In advance of the campaign’s release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972. I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”
Hadid, who has Palestinian and Dutch roots, appeared in a campaign for the SL 72 shoe and went to Times Square in New York City on July 11 for the unveiling of a digital billboard. Previous posts about the campaign, showing her visit to Times Square, have been deleted from her Instagram account, where she has more than 60 million followers.
“My team should have known, Adidas should have known and I should have done more research so that I too would have known and understood, and spoken up,” her statement continued, adding that the “collective lack of understanding from all parties undermined the process.”
“I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism,” she said.
In a July 15 press release that is no longer available online, Adidas said the SL 72 sneaker was first unveiled in 1972 and was the “spark plug that initiated a paradigm shift in the realm of running shoes.”
The sportswear company faced backlash after a post by Dazed & Confused Magazine mentioned that the sneaker was launched at the Munich Olympics. People online, including Jewish activists and advocacy groups, quickly made the connection between the 1972 Games and an attack on Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists. Dubbed the Munich massacre, 11 Israelis were targeted and killed, including athletes and coaches.
In a statement to the National Post on July 18, Adidas said it was aware of the connections being made, but it was “completely unintentional.”
“We apologize for any upset or distress caused,” the statement said. “As a result we are revising the remainder of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do.”
The campaign has since been pulled.
Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden acknowledged the blunder on an earnings call, Bloomberg reported.
“We did the mistake in the way that bits and pieces in this campaign were put together and when you do a mistake, you apologize and you move on — and that’s what we did,” he said.
He said Hadid was “still a friend of the brand” and that she is paid “according to a contract.”
Hadid has been accused of being antisemitic by Israel and sharing misinformation since October 7, when Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists.
“Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people,” Hadid asserted in her statement.