Why did Adidas apologize for their Bella Hadid ad? Backlash over the 1972 Munich Olympics shoe campaign explored  

On July 15, model Bella Hadid appeared in the SL72 campaign unveiled by the sportswear magnate Adidas. It marked the 52nd anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics and re-launched the company’s “coveted classic” sneakers worn by the athletes during the bygone event.

Notably, during the 1972 Munich Olympics, a dozen Israeli athletes and one German police officer were taken hostage and later killed during a terror attack orchestrated by a Palestinian militant group called Black September.

As a result, the inclusion of Bella Hadid as the face of their latest campaign has sparked controversy. Adidas is now facing backlash for including the 27-year-old model in their campaign, who, despite being born as an American, identifies as a “proud Palestinian” from her father, Palestinian-American real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid’s side.

In the wake of this, Adidas issued an apology. In a statement shared with USA Today Sports, their spokesperson said:

“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.”

They added how the goal was to "unite" everyone worldwide who admired their "lightweight running shoes" manufactured half a century ago.

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Adidas removed all social media posts featuring Bella Hadid

Earlier this week, Adidas shared their newest SL72 campaign featuring model Bella Hadid to revive their 1972 Munich Olympics sneaker collection.

Apart from the website, the company also shared glimpses of the campaign on their social media accounts, including Instagram and X.

Hadid was seen holding flowers while flaunting her limited-edition sneakers with the caption on X reading:

“Giving Bella Hadid her flowers in the SL 72.”

Another post also went on to feature Bella Hadid which was captioned:

"Originals. Bella Hadid. SL 72. A silhouette originally crafted for road running; the SL 72 is a retro-inspired classic with effortless appeal."

Unfortunately, the campaign earned widespread criticism for featuring someone belonging to the Palestinian lineage, considering the tragic history behind the 1972 Munich Olympics.

For instance, The American Jewish Committee even demanded that Adidas address their "egregious error." On July 18, the AJC took to X and wrote in a post:

"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."

In response, the sportswear brand issued a public apology for causing “unintentional” distress and upsetting the relevant communities.

“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,” they said on Thursday.

The company representative also elaborated on their intention behind the re-launch campaign, sharing that it was meant to "unite 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."

Not only that but Adidas removed all their social media posts, both on X and Instagram, featuring Bella Hadid, in their effort to “revise” the campaign. However, the website continued to exhibit her face.

So far, Bella Hadid, who is a vocal advocate of Palestinian rights alongside her sister and model Gigi Hadid, hasn’t addressed the matter.

Meanwhile, other celebrities who were part of Adidas’ SL72 campaign, including soccer player Jules Koundé, rapper and songwriter A$AP Nast, musician Melissa Bon, and model Sabrina Lan, continue to be featured on both the brand’s social media as well as the website.