Bella Hadid has reacted to the controversy surrounding her involvement in an Adidas campaign that has been withdrawn after criticism, Sky News reports.
The American supermodel was the face of a campaign featuring updated trainers from the 1972 Munich Olympics – the games where 11 members of the Israeli team were killed by Palestinian terrorists.
Adidas apologised to the model after reports emerged that Hadid was planning to sue them.
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza during the war with Hamas, and recently donated $1 million to help Palestinians along with her sister Gigi Hadid.
Now the 27-year-old model has broken her silence, saying she was unaware of the historical context and “would never knowingly participate in any art or work related to a horrific tragedy of any kind.” She wrote on Instagram:
“I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”
She said her team and Adidas “should have known” and she should have done more research and “spoken up.” Hadid also added:
“While everyone’s intentions were to make something positive, and bring people together through art, the collective lack of understanding from all parties undermined the process. I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism. That will never waiver, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent.”
The Munich Massacre
During the 1972 Games, Palestinian terrorists from the militant group Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village and kidnapped members of the Israeli team in what became known as the Munich Massacre.
Eleven members of the Israeli team – five athletes and six coaches, as well as a German police officer and five terrorists – were killed in the incident, which ended in a failed rescue attempt.
The SL 72 campaign attempted to revive the “classic” running shoes first created for Adidas athletes at the Munich Olympics. The adverts, which appeared on Adidas platforms and on a billboard in Times Square, showed Hadid wearing the trainers while holding flowers.
Everyone blamed Adidas
The American Jewish Committee said Adidas used a “rabidly anti-Israel model” for the campaign, which they said “is either a massive omission or deliberately inflammatory.”
Hadid condemned the link between the “liberation of the Palestinian people” and the anti-Semitic attack, saying, “Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism, and this campaign inadvertently emphasised an event that does not reflect who we are.” She also said:
“I am a proud Palestinian woman and there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been equated over the past week. I will forever stand by my people of Palestine while continuing to advocate for a world free of antisemitism. Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people. I will always stand for peace over violence, any day. Hate has no place here, and I will forever advocate for not only my people, but every person worldwide.”
After pulling the adverts, Adidas said in a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News:
“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events – though these are completely unintentional – and we apologise for any upset or distress caused. As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign.”
