Bella Hadid offered a response on Monday to the controversy surrounding her involvement in a recent Adidas campaign featuring shoes inspired by the 1972 Munich Games.
The ”SL 72” running shoe campaign, released earlier this month, coincided with the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Games, where 11 Israeli coaches and athletes were massacred by Palestinian terrorists. Though the shoes and campaign made no mention of the tragic incident, a statement from the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee condemned Hadid’s involvement in the campaign because of the model’s support of relief efforts for Palestinians in Gaza amid the war between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces.
“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,” the AJC’s statement read.
“I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” Hadid wrote in a lengthy Instagram story on Monday. “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.”
Hadid added that she, her team and the team at Adidas “should have done more research,” and had she known about the tragic history, she would have “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.”
Hadid went on to condemn the connection between “the liberation of the Palestinian people” and an antisemitic attack, saying that “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,” she wrote. “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.”
Adidas, in a statement obtained by THR after the backlash said it was “revising” its Munich Games retro running shoe campaign to take account of political and historical sensitivities. “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.”
