Adidas Apologizes (Again) for Deleting Bella Hadid Ad Campaign After Backlash

The Adidas-Bella Hadid saga has been one of the more prominent off-field stories ahead of the Olympics and has already seen two apologies being released by the sportswear giant.

The German company first apologized last week after some prominent social media accounts including the Israeli government and the pro-Israel Jewish advocacy group American Jewish Committee criticized them over the release of a sneaker ad featuring Bella Hadid. Hadid was chosen as the face to market a retro 1972 Olympic Games sneaker, which also involved the participation of French footballer Jules Koundé, model Sabrina Lan, musician Melissa Bon, and rapper A$AP Nast.

During the 1972 Olympics in Munich, 11 Israeli coaches and athletes were abducted from the Olympic village and killed by the Palestinian terrorist outfit Black September. In response, the intelligence agency Mossad carried out assassinations of the militants over the course of several years, as documented in Steven Spielberg’s film Munich (2005).

In addition to showcasing a retro shoe paying homage to the games that hosted this tragedy, AJC and Israel criticized Adidas for choosing Hadid, whose father is a Palestinian immigrant and who has been vocal in her condemnation of Israel’s brutal attacks on Palestinians, for this campaign specifically. In response, Adidas appeared to delete Hadid’s campaign online , drawing the ire of many people on X, with some of them issuing strong replies:

On July 23, Adidas issued another apology, this one directed towards Bella Hadid and other personalities that were a part of the campaign. The company had pulled the ad on July 20, and in a statement posted on its social media on Monday, expressed its regret for the move. Hadid had chosen to hire lawyers amid the global backlash, citing a “lack of public accountability” on the German brand’s side, according to sources.

Hadid has been vocal against the atrocities being meted out in the Israel-Hamas war, using her platform to bring awareness to anti-war efforts. Her sister and fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid, a popular supermodel herself, has echoed similar sentiments over the years, as has their father, Mohammad Hadid. The senior Hadid was born in Nazareth (now in Israel, then Palestine) and later moved to America to eventually become a real estate mogul.