Adidas Issues Apology, Pulls Ads Featuring Bella Hadid in Campaign for 1972 Munich Olympics Shoe Relaunch
The brand faces criticism for featuring Hadid, an outspoken advocate for Palestine, in a campaign that honors the 1972 Olympics, during which Palestinian militants captured and killed Israelis
Arnold Jerocki/GC Images
Bella Hadid.Adidas is apologizing after featuring Bella Hadid in a new campaign honoring the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics.
To support the relaunch of Adidas' SL72 sneaker (which debuted in 1972, the same year as the Munich Olympics), Hadid appears in advertisements wearing the sneakers and a white Adidas ensemble while holding flowers.
The company swiftly received backlash for selecting Hadid as the face of the campaign. During the 1972 Munich Olympics, eight Palestinian terrorists from the militant group "Black September" broke into the Olympic Village and killed two members of the Israeli team and took nine more members of the Israeli team hostage. All of them were killed.
Hadid, who has Palestinian heritage, has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestine.
Per USA Today, Adidas Originals shared the campaign photos on X with the caption, "Giving Bella Hadid her flowers in the SL 72," however, all posts featuring the 27-year-old model have since been removed from Adidas Originals' X account and Instagram.
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Hadid also shared news of the campaign on social media. In an Instagram post on Sunday, July 14, the model is seen standing in front of the ad, shown on a billboard in New York City's Times Square.
On Thursday, July 18, the American Jewish Committee spoke out against the campaign and called for Adidas to "address this egregious error."
"At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September," the Committee wrote on X. "For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable." The organization followed up with a correction that 11 Israelis were murdered, as well as a German police officer.
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In response, Adidas issued an apology for the campaign and said the brand would be "revising" it.
“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events — though these are completely unintentional — and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” Adidas said in a statement shared with USA TODAY Sports on July 18. “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.”
Representatives for Adidas and Hadid did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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