Model Bella Hadid is “shocked, upset and disappointed” in the lack of sensitivity Adidas showed in its latest campaign.
Hadid -- who is half Palestinian -- is the face of the recently launched SL72 campaign, which celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics with the revival of Adidas' "coveted classic" sneaker from the '70s.
“The 1972 Olympics in Munich, however, were overshadowed by a terrorist attack that left 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer dead at the hands of a Palestinian militant group amid the Israeli-Palestine conflict,” notes USA Today.
The games that year “are widely known for the dark tragedy that took place in Munich’s Olympic Village: An attack committed by a Palestinian group called Black September, who killed two Israeli athletes on Sept. 5, 1972,” according to CNBC. “Nine others who were taken hostage later died during a failed rescue attempt.”
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Hadid says in advance of the campaign release she had no knowledge of the historical connection to the events at the 1972 Olympics.
“I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” Hadid wrote Monday in a lengthy message on her Instagram Stories.
Adidas said it is revising the remainder of its campaign in response to the backlash and is removing Hadid.
“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. “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.”
A previous statement from Adidas Originals shared on Instagram said connections to the 1972 attack were "not meant.”
“When the ad was launched, it attracted criticism towards Hadid from some quarters, including on social media,” according to the BBC. “But other users defended the model and called for a boycott of Adidas following the move to pull the campaign.”
The American Jewish Committee said that Adidas’ decision to feature a “vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory,” according to CNBC.
Hadid has been a vocal supporter of Palestinians and earlier this year donated money to support relief efforts for the war in Gaza.
"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,” Hadid said on Instagram.
Great piece, Tanya. Truly beggars belief.