Bella Hadid has officially spoken out on the Adidas campaign that made an “unintentional” reference to the 1972 massacre at the Munich Olympics.
The ad that showed the 27-year-old model in a white fluffy top and short set that was designed with the brand’s signature three striped lines in black, a flower bouquet, and the classic sneakers that channeled the 52nd Olympics games, which caused major attention and backlash on the internet.
In 1972, the games witnessed a tragedy after a Palestinian militant group terrorist attack killed 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer. Adidas, who revised the ad, they stated “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…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.”
After nearly two weeks since their statement, Bella being part Palestinian– on her dad Mohamed Hadid’s side– finally spoke out about the matter after being criticized for taking part in this campaign. In an Instagram story shared on Monday, July 29, she wrote, “For those of you that do not know my heart, I want to make sure you’re hearing directly from me about my recent campaign with adidas. I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind. In advance of the campaign’s release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972.”
She continued, “I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. 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.”
The former Victoria Secret angel, who previously shared a picture of her posing with the ad displayed on a Times Square billboard behind her, has been active online throughout the Israel-Hamas war. In June she donated to Palestinian charities as humanitarian relief about $1 million alongside her sister Gigi. She reiterated in her apology statement that she seeks for “peace over violence,” “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.’