Okay, so what’s all the drama that’s happening between Bella Hadid and Adidas right now?

Bella Hadid was the face of the new SL72 sneaker campaign from Adidas, but she was suddenly removed from all posts and ads following major backlash from the public and The American Jewish Committee. The campaign honoured the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics and showed Bella Hadid wearing the Adidas SL72 sneakers, which were originally launched in the same year as the Munich Olympics.

However, Adidas swiftly received strong backlash for choosing Bella Hadid to be the face of the campaign due to her support of Palestine. During the 1972 Munich Olympics, eight Palestinian terrorists from a militant group called Black September managed to break into the Olympic Village. They ended up killing two members of the Israeli team and taking nine more of the team hostage, who were also killed.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September.

For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is… https://t.co/kNWw2cIsB9

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 18, 2024

The American Jewish Committee called out Adidas to address the “egregious error.” In a statement, they wrote: “At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September. For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable.”

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Following the backlash, Adidas removed all traces of the campaign pictures featuring Bella and paused all adverts containing her. In a statement to USA Today Sports they commented: “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. 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.”

Bella Hadid has hired a legal team to sue Adidas, TMZ reports.

She reportedly feels they lack public accountability for making her the face of their campaign honoring the 1972 Munich Olympics. pic.twitter.com/TZ3Df8zrNC

— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 21, 2024

Bella has very publicly supported Palestinians who have been affected by the Israeli-Palestine conflict. In 2017 she marched against Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, declaring: “The TREATMENT of the Palestinian people is unfair, one-sided and should not be tolerated. I stand with Palestine.” According to the BBC, she and her sister also donated $1 million to relief efforts taking place in Palestine.

According to TMZ, Bella Hadid is now preparing to sue Adidas for “their lack of public accountability” for putting out a campaign that “would associate anyone with the death and violence of what took place at the 1972 Munich Games.”

Via Instagram

Bella Hadid released a statement on Monday evening, addressing the Adidas campaign, writing: “For those of you that do not know my heart, I want to make sure you’re hearing directly from me about my recent campaign with Adidas. I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind. In advance of the campaign’s release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972.

“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. 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. As I always have, and always will, speak up for what I believe to be wrong.”

She continued: “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. 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.”

“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 world wide.”

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Featured image credit via Instagram.