Adidas has issued an apology for its recent ad campaign starring model . The German sportswear brand recently pulled ads for its SL 72 sneakers after receiving significant backlash online, including from the Israeli government, for featuring Hadid in the campaign. What’s at the heart of the controversy? In short, critics of the ads are asking why Hadid, who has frequently voiced her support of Palestinian causes, was chosen as the face of the campaign for a retro sneaker with links to the .
During those Olympic Games, 11 Israeli athletes and one policeman died after a Palestinian terrorist group attacked the Olympic Village. After their recent ads were met with widespread criticism, Adidas pulled the ads featuring Hadid and issued an apology on social media, calling the incident an “unintentional mistake.” Read on to learn more about the controversy.
The Adidas ad campaign featuring Bella Hadid has since been removed from the sportswear brand’s social media channels, but from the campaign are still circulating online. In the on X, Bella Hadid can be seen wearing the brand’s SL 72 shoes while holding a bouquet of red, pink and white flowers. “Giving Bella Hadid her flowers in the SL 72,” Adidas also posted in a now-deleted X post, according to .
Images from the ad campaign featuring Hadid were also displayed on a billboard in New York City in July. On July 11, Hadid posed for photos in front of the billboard in midtown Manhattan while sporting an Adidas top and what appeared to be the same SL 72 sneakers she wore in the ad campaign. The SL 72 design is a modern reimagining of the shoes Adidas originally designed in conjunction with the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Adidas’ 1972 sneaker design marked the launch of the brand’s iconic trefoil, or three-striped logo, according to the company’s . Adidas has faced criticism for featuring Bella Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent and has been vocal in her support of Palestinian territories, in an advertisement for shoes linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed in a terrorist attack. On Sept.
5, 1972, eight members of a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September broke into the Olympic Village and killed two Israeli athletes and took nine other Israeli athletes hostage. All nine hostages were ultimately killed, as well as one policeman, according to the official . Hadid does not appear to have commented publicly on the events of the 1972 Olympics.
The Adidas controversy stems, rather, from Hadid’s general support of Palestinian causes over the years. The model, who was born in Washington, D.C.
, and whose father was born to a Palestinian family, has been vocal throughout the Israel-Hamas war. Conflict began following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel, which killed 1,200 people and led to the kidnappings of at least 200, according to the Israeli government.
As of May, over 35,000 Gazans have been killed, according to the ). “Palestine on my mind, in my blood and on my heart,” she wrote, in part, in an on May 28. “Always.
.. While I still have to go to work , even through this horror, to wear our culture makes me a proud Palestinian & I want the world to continue to see Palestine, wherever we go.
” A pinned to the top of Hadid's Instagram page also features a protest sign with a quote attributed to her: “It’s free Palestine til’ Palestine is free.” Hadid also opened up about her Palestinian identity in a May 2021 Instagram post, featuring attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration. “The way my heart feels.
. To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving , kind and generous Palestinians all in one place..
. it feels whole ! We are a rare breed!!” she wrote in the . “It’s free Palestine til Palestine is free!!!” On July 18, the , which is operated by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented directly on the Adidas campaign featuring Hadid.
Israel’s post criticized the campaign and claimed Hadid has “a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jews.” The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a leading advocacy organization, also criticized the inclusion of Hadid in the ad campaign. “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 AJC , in part, on July 18. On July 21, the official Adidas Originals Instagram account issued an apology statement via its Instagram story. “Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign,” the statement read.
“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, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundré, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign,” the statement concluded.
Two days earlier on July 19, Adidas also issued a statement to saying it was “revising the remainder of the campaign." “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 also told NBC News at the time. All images of Hadid from the campaign appear to have been pulled from Adidas’ website and social channels.
Hadid does not appear to have commented publicly on the recent controversy surrounding her Adidas ad campaign. TODAY.com has reached out to Hadid and has not heard back at the time of publication.
As of July 22, there are no images from the campaign featured on her official social media accounts. Lindsay Lowe has been a regular contributor to TODAY.com since 2016, covering pop culture, style, home and other lifestyle topics.
She is also working on her first novel, a domestic drama set in rural Regency England..
