Bella Hadid has broken her silence after she was dropped from a controversial Adidas campaign.
The supermodel, 27 - who describes herself as a ‘proud Palestinian woman’ - joined forces with the German juggernaut to relaunch their retro trainer, SL72, earlier this month. But the advert quickly faced immense backlash owing to its reference to the 1972 Munich Games, where 11 Israeli team members were killed by pro-Palestinian terrorists.
Amid the furore – heightened by a condemning post from the official X account for the State of Israel over Bella’s involvement – Adidas released a statement, saying the campaign ‘unites a broad range of partners’.
They continued, ‘We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events – though these are completely unintentional – and we apologise for any upset or distress caused. As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign.’
Adidas later took to Instagram with another formal apologywhich read, ‘Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign. These connections are not meant and we apologise for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologise to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign.’
In her first statement since the scandal, Bella said she was ‘shocked, upset and disappointed’ in the ‘lack of sensitivity’ that went into the campaign.
She wrote to her 61.3 million Instagram followers on Monday (29 July), ‘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.’
Bella has been a vocal advocate for Palestine - and her heritage - on social media amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, writing in a post in May, ‘If you don’t know what’s happening right now in Gaza, watch my stories (and find other accounts leading to Palestinians on the ground) and please educate yourself on the ongoing occupation and genocide that is happening RIGHT NOW in Gaza. Do not be desensitised to the horror that is being endured by the Palestinian people.’ It was also reported last month that she and her sister, fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid, donated $1 million to the Palestinian aid effort.
For the Adidas SL72 campaign, the runway star was captured holding a bouquet to promote the shoe, which was launched the same year as the Munich Olympics.
‘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,’ her statement continued.
‘I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism. That will never waver, 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.’
She then labelled herself a ‘proud Palestinian woman’, stating that ‘there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been equated over the past week’.
Bella concluded her response, ‘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.’
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.