BACKLASH

Adidas Sorry for Putting Bella Hadid in 1972 Munich Olympics Shoe Ad

The company has scrubbed the supermodel’s campaign images from its social media accounts.

Adidas’ Olympic shoe relaunch with supermodel Bella Hadid deserves a trophy for antisemitism, according to some Jewish groups. Hadid stars in a campaign for the relaunch of the “coveted classic” SL72 retro sneaker from the 1972 Munich Olympics, where a Palestinian militant group killed 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer. Hadid’s father is Palestinian, and both she and her supermodel sister, Gigi, are vocal in their support for Palestinian statehood. The American Jewish Committee, a Jewish civil rights group, condemned the campaign in a post on X on Thursday. “For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory,” the AJC wrote. “Neither is acceptable.” Adidas apologized for “any upset or distress caused” by the ad. “As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign.” The company’s edits include scrubbing Hadid’s images from posts on their X and Instagram accounts, although as of Friday morning, she is still featured on the website for the shoes.