Adidas apologized to Bella Hadid after the company removed an advertisement related to the 1972 Munich Olympics In the ad, Hadid wears shoes inspired by Adidas’ SL72 sneakers, a model used in the 1972 Summer Games that were overshadowed by tragedy when members of the Palestinian group Black September killed two athletes from the Israeli national team.
Adidas, a German company, and Hadid received backlash over the ad. removed the ad on Saturday and apologized, saying they were “reviewing the rest of the campaign.”
On September 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian group Black September stormed the Olympic Village, taking more than nine hostages and killing two Israeli athletes, in an attempt to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners and two left-wing extremists held in Israel and West Germany. During a rescue attempt by German forces, all nine hostages and a West German policeman were killed.
In a new statement posted to social media on Monday, Adidas said that while ties continue to be made to the Munich Olympics, their SL72 campaign was not intended to reference the tragic event.[A]“We apologize for any inconvenience or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake,” the company wrote.
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“We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé and others, for any negative impact on them and are reviewing the campaign,” the statement continued.
The campaign also featured rapper A$AP Nast and French footballer Jules Koundé, among other models. The shoes are still available for purchase online.
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, urged people to support and protect civilians in Gaza during the war between Israel and HamasHadid has published extensively on the war since it broke out on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.
She has often expressed Palestinian pride and publicly criticized the Israeli government.
After the ad aired, several people criticized Adidas and Hadid. “The fact that Adidas chose an openly anti-Israel model to recall these dark Olympics is either a massive mistake or an intentional provocation. Neither is acceptable. We call on Adidas to correct this egregious error,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement on social media.
Following the criticism, rumors had it that Hadid had hired a legal team to sue Adidas, TMZ first reported.
She has not made any public comments about the controversial campaign, but she has deleted images of herself wearing the SL72 from social media.
While Hadid and Adidas have received backlash online, her Instagram has been flooded with supportive comments, with many saying she is “too good for Adidas” and others saying they will boycott the company.
Adidas has historical ties to Nazism. The company’s founders, brothers Adolf “Adi” and Rudolf Dassler, were members of the Nazi Party. According to Adi Dassler’s biography on the Adi & Käthe Dassler Memorial Foundation website, the brothers were pressured into joining the party to keep their company going. Adi Dassler also oversaw the Hitler Youth sports league in the city where the company’s headquarters were located, according to the foundation.
