Bella Hadid’s new Adidas campaign has been pulled after being called “horrible” and a “huge mistake.”
The American supermodel was the face of the shoe’s campaign, which was relaunched at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
During those Olympics, Palestinian terrorists from the group Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer.
The criticism comes as Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, has been a vocal critic of Israel and has frequently spoken out on social media against the war between Israel and Hamas.
Last month, she and her sister Gigi Hadid donated $1 million to Palestinian relief efforts.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry strongly criticised Hadid’s appearance in the campaign on social media.
In a post on X, the American Jewish Committee called on Adidas to “address this grave error.”
It added: “Adidas’ choice of a vociferously anti-Israel model to evoke these dark Olympics is either a gross oversight or deliberate incitement. Neither is acceptable.”
The SL 72 campaign, announced on Monday, revives the “classic” trainer that was first created for Adidas athletes at the Munich Olympics.
Advertisements appearing on Adidas platforms and on billboards in Times Square show Hadid wearing the sneakers and holding flowers.
“It’s outrageous that they would allow her to release a shoe that celebrates the Olympics, an event where so much Jewish blood was spilled,” said Sasha Roitman, chief executive of the Campaign to Combat Anti-Semitism.
Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, called Adidas’ decision “a serious miscarriage of justice that will demean the victims.”
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Adidas has now pulled its ads featuring Hadid, saying in a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News: “We are aware of the association with a tragic historical event. This was entirely unintentional and we apologise for any upset or distress caused.”
“As a result, we are revising the remainder of our campaign.”
Photos of Hadid from the campaign have been removed from Adidas’ social media channels and website.
Sky News has contacted a representative for the model for comment.
