Adidas has dropped vocal pro-Palestinian model Bella Hadid from an advertising campaign for retro trainers referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, which were overshadowed by a massacre of Israeli athletes, following outcry over her views.
The German sportswear giant recently relaunched the SL72, a shoe first showcased by athletes at the 1972 Olympics, as part of a series reviving old classic trainers.
Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed at the 1972 Munich Games after gunmen from the Palestinian Black September group broke into the Olympic village and took them hostage.
Hadid, who was born in the US but has Palestinian roots, has been vocal about her support for Palestinian rights since war in Gaza erupted – but has faced backlash over her views and involvement in the Adidas campaign promoting the shoes.
Adidas said today it would be ‘revising the remainder of the campaign’ with immediate effect, without specifying how.
‘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,’ the company said in a statement.

Bella Hadid appeared modelling the shoes first showcased at the 1972 Munich Olympics

But Adidas faced backlash, with the Olympics overshadowed by a Palestinian terror attack
A spokeswoman confirmed that Hadid, 27, had been removed from the campaign, which notes that the shoes were first introduced in 1972 but never mentions the terror attack on the Israeli athletes.
‘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,’ the statement read.
‘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.’
Pictures of the American model wearing the retro Adidas shoes had caused an outcry among pro-Israeli groups.
‘Guess who the face of the campaign is? Bella Hadid, a model with Palestinian roots who has spread anti-Semitism in the past and incited violence against Israelis and Jews,’ the Israeli embassy in Germany wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
‘How can Adidas now claim that the reference (to the events in Munich) was ‘completely unintentional’?’ Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, said in response to the company’s climbdown.
‘The terror of 1972 is etched into the collective memory of Germans and Israelis,’ he told Die Welt TV on Friday.
The American Jewish Committee said on Twitter/X the decision to use Hadid to model the sneakers was an ‘egregious error’.
‘For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory,’ it wrote. ‘Neither is acceptable.’
Hadid was among five models, celebrities and athletes selected to promote the shoe.
Adidas said it would be continuing the SL72 campaign with other models.
Promotional images with French footballer Jules Koundé, US rapper A$AP Nast and Chinese model Sabrina Lan were still online as pictures showing Hadid were removed from social media.
Hadid has taken part in several pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the conflict and has described Israel’s offensive as a ‘genocide’.
The Israeli government previously criticised Hadid for allegedly chanting the controversial slogan ‘From the river to the Sea – Palestine will be free,’ the FT reports.
In 2021, Hadid, her sister Gigi Hadid and singer Dua Lipa were described as anti-Semitic in an advertisement published in The New York Times by a Jewish group called the World Values Network.

Adidas said it would be ‘revising the remainder of the campaign’ with immediate effect
The Gaza war was triggered by the October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas gunmen on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Some 240 people were also taken back into the Gaza Strip as hostages during the assault.
Israel’s military retaliation to wipe out Hamas has killed at least 38,848 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The prolonged offensive in Gaza has drawn widespread criticism from Israel’s allies and protestors around the world, gathering in large demonstrations to call for a ceasefire.
MailOnline contacted a modelling agency representing Ms Hadid for comment.
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