Bella Hadid has broken her silence after coming under fire for an Adidas campaign to mark the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics. In the ad, Hadid is seen wearing a shoe inspired by Adidas' SL72 sneaker, which debuted at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a tragic event when 11 Israelis and a West German police officer were killed by the Black September militant group.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, the model said she would “never knowingly participate” in work linked to a “horrific tragedy.”
“I want to make sure you hear directly from me about my latest campaign with Adidas,” she wrote. “I would never knowingly be involved in any artwork or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind. Prior to launching the campaign, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the terrible events of 1972. I am shocked, disturbed, and disappointed by the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign.”
Hadid continued, saying she “never would have participated” in the Adidas campaign had she known about the terrorist attack that occurred at the Games that year.
“My team should have known, Adidas should have known, and I should have done more research to know, understand, and speak up,” Hadid wrote. “As I have always been, and always will be, speaking up about what I believe is wrong. While everyone’s intentions were to create something positive, to bring people together through art, the collective lack of understanding on all sides undermined the process.”
“I do not believe in hatred in any form, including anti-Semitism,” she continued. “I will never give up on that, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent.”
Hadid also criticized the link between the “Free Palestine” campaign and terrorism. “Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism, and this campaign has inadvertently highlighted an event that does not represent who we are,” Hadid wrote. “I am a proud Palestinian woman, and there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been likened to this past week.”
“I will forever stand with my people in Palestine as I continue to advocate for a world free of anti-Semitism. There is no place for anti-Semitism in the liberation of the Palestinian people. I will always stand for peace instead of violence, any day. There is no place for hate here, and I will forever stand up for not just my people, but for everyone around the world,” she continued.
Earlier this summer, when the Adidas Originals campaign was unveiled, the American Jewish Committee quickly called the decision “grossly negligent or intentionally inflammatory,” calling the decision unacceptable and calling on Adidas to address the incident.
The company pulled images from the online campaign and shared a full apology in mid-July “for any upset or distress caused.” “We recognize that there have been associations made with tragic historical events — although this was completely unintended — and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” the statement read. USA Today “As a result, we are reviewing the remainder of the campaign.”
