Adidas has issued an apology after featuring Bella Hadid in a new campaign honoring the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics. The campaign was intended to promote the relaunch of Adidas’ SL72 sneakers, which originally debuted during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Hadid was shown wearing a white Adidas outfit and the sneakers, but the advertisement quickly faced backlash.
The controversy centers around the tragic events of the 1972 games, where eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village, killed two Israeli athletes, and took nine others hostage, who were all ultimately killed. The choice of Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent and vocal about her support for Palestine, added to the controversy.
Bella Hadid is the face of Adidas @adidasoriginals next "it" sneakers.
Hadid identifies as Palestinian & Dutch. US supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid are donating $1m (£785,000) to support Palestinian relief efforts.#Paris2024 #SL27 pic.twitter.com/wjf3nUV7jS— STESS News (@stessnews) July 18, 2024
On Thursday, the American Jewish Committee condemned the campaign, calling it “unacceptable” and demanding Adidas address the issue. “At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September,” they wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “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.”
Adidas responded with a statement, confirming they would revise 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 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.”
— 21 (@21metgala) July 21, 2024
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