The shoe giant apologizes to the model after it was unveiled that she was 'upset the company would put out a campaign that would associate anyone with a tragedy like the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics.'
- July 22, 2024
AceShowbiz - Bella Hadid might have scared Adidas with a report about her planning to sue the company. After it was unveiled that the model hired lawyers to take legal action against it, the shoe giant issued a public apology to her and other parties.
"Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign," the German shoe brand said in a statement. "These connections are not meant and we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world."
"We made an unintentional mistake," it added. "We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Kounde, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign."
The statement was released not long after TMZ revealed that Bella was planning to sue Adidas. She was reportedly "upset the company would put out a campaign that would associate anyone with a tragedy like the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics," where a Palestinian group called Black September killed 11 athletes.
Bella, who is reportedly still under contract with the footwear giant, allegedly didn't know what she was getting herself into when she made the deal. Now that the company had pulled the ads in the wake of the backlash, the younger sister of Gigi Hadid plans to sue them for their lack of public accountability.
Adidas was slammed by the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee for choosing Bella as the face of the campaign. For the record, the daughter of Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid has been a vocal critic of Israel amid the genocide in Gaza and used her platform to voice her support for Palestine.
In response, Adidas issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter. "The adidas Originals SL72 campaign unites a broad range of partners to celebrate our lightweight running shoe, designed more than 50 years ago and worn in sport and culture around the world," a spokesperson for the company wrote.
"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," it claimed. "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."
