Bella Hadid Breaks Her Silence on Adidas’ Controversial Ad Campaign

Adidas has been embroiled in controversy after launching and subsequently withdrawing an ad campaign featuring Bella Hadid. Now, the fashion model has broken her silence on the incident.

Recently, the shoe brand brought back its line of SL 72 sneakers. The sneakers were first introduced alongside the 1972 Munich Olympics and were a popular choice for track-and-field athletes. The shoes are making a comeback with the retro-style SL 72 RS and SL 72 OG and Adidas tapped Hadid, Jules Kounde, and several other celebrities as the face of the new campaign. However, backlash arose as posters of Hadid with the SL 72 sneakers circulated. The issue is that the 1972 Olympics was overshadowed by tragedy when Palestinian militant terrorists broke into the Olympic village and attacked the Israeli Olympic team. Six Israeli coaches and five Israeli athletes lost their lives in the attack.

Although Adidas’ campaign wasn’t meant to connect to the tragic terrorist attack, many made the connection anyway. Meanwhile, the decision to have Hadid, a woman of Palestinian descent who has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian freedom, drew further scrutiny. Eventually, Adidas removed images of the campaign and apologized for the unintentional connection to the attack. However, this sparked more backlash as many perceived the situation as Adidas deleting Hadid from the campaign simply because she is Palestinian. Several days after the controversy, Hadid shared her side of the story.

Bella Hadid apologizes for controversial ad campaign

On July 29, Hadid issued a statement about the ad campaign on her Instagram Story. Many have been speculating on Hadid’s stance on the campaign, especially after reports arose that she was lawyered up. As a result, she clarified that she would never have participated in the ad campaign if she had realized its connection to a tragic event. She explained that she and her team hadn’t properly vetted the campaign, although she pointed out that Adidas also “should have known” the history of the 1972 Olympics.

Hadid went on to say that her advocacy for Palestine and pride in being a Palestinian woman still stands but that the campaign unintentionally highlighted a historical event that does not represent those calling for Palestine’s freedom today. She wrote, “Connecting the liberation of the Palestinian people to an attack so tragic is something that hurts my heart. Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism, and this campaign unintentionally highlighted an event that does not represent who we are.” Hadid concluded her statement by stating she will “forever” stand by Palestine while also advocating “for a world free of antisemitism.”

Hadid has faced a lot of backlash, not just for her participation in the Adidas campaign but for her vocal support of Palestine. However, her statement clarifies that she never intended for her campaign to be connected to the tragedy and wants to continue using her platform effectively to advocate for freedom while refusing to spread hate. Even though the campaign connection to terrorism was unintentional, Hadid understood the negative interpretation some had of it and is working to ensure it isn’t used to derail the peaceful advocacy she has partaken in.