Category: News

The supermodel Bella Hadid said on Monday that she was “shocked” by the “lack of sensitivity” that went into an Adidas ad campaign that she starred in, inspired by the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

The sportswear brand’s ad was met with swift backlash from people online and pro-Israel groups when it came out this month. The campaign promoted the rerelease of a sneaker from 1972 called the “Originals SL 72” that debuted during that year’s Olympic Games, when 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian militants during the event and later killed. Ms. Hadid, who modeled the sneaker in the ad, is of Palestinian descent and became a focal point of the scrutiny.

Adidas apologized in a statement on July 19, saying that it had made an “unintentional mistake,” and pulled the ad.

Ms. Hadid issued her own apology in an Instagram story on Monday evening. “I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” she wrote. “In advance of the campaign’s release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972.”

What happened with the ad?
In mid-July, Adidas reintroduced its running sneaker, which originally debuted at the Munich Olympics in 1972. To promote the shoe, the brand rolled out a global ad campaign featuring a range of pop culture figures, including the soccer player Jules Koundé, the hip-hop artist ASAP Nast and Ms. Hadid.

In an emailed statement shared with The New York Times, Adidas said that the campaign was intended to celebrate its lightweight running shoe, which was designed more than 50 years ago.

“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,” the statement read.

What exactly made people angry?
Some people linked the Adidas ad campaign to a tragedy that occurred during the 1972 Games in Munich, where 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team were killed after an invasion of the Olympic Village by Palestinian militants.

The campaign made no mention of the attack. But some were outraged that Ms. Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent and who has long been outspoken about her pro-Palestine stance, was one of the faces of the ad campaign, and they drew connections to the massacre.

“For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory,” the American Jewish Committee wrote in a statement posted on X this month. “Neither is acceptable.”

What happened during the Munich Olympics?
In September 1972, a group of Palestinian militants known as Black September broke into the Olympic Village, killing two Israeli athletes and kidnapping nine others as hostages. The militants were seeking the release of more than 200 Palestinians held by Israel and two imprisoned German left-wing extremists. The German police tried to rescue the Israeli hostages, resulting in a shootout at a military airport that killed the remaining hostages.

What else did Ms. Hadid say?
Ms. Hadid, who described herself as feeling shocked, upset and “disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into” the campaign, said she would have never participated in the ad if she had been made aware of the context.

“I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism,” she said. “That will never waver, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent.”

She acknowledged that she “should have done more research” into that year’s Olympics, but she remained firm in her support for Palestinian people, adding that the country is “not synonymous with terrorism.”

“I am a proud Palestinian woman and there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been equated over the past week,” she wrote. “I will forever stand by my people of Palestine while continuing to advocate for a world free of antisemitism.”

Ms. Hadid did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.

Is Adidas still selling the sneakers?
Adidas told The Times that it was “revising the remainder of the campaign.” The shoes are still available for purchase on the company’s website.

Source: nytimes.com

Adidas has apologized to the model Bella Hadid after pulling adverts in which she was promoting a sport shoe first launched to coincide with the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Adidas last week said it was “revising” its campaign after criticism from Israel over Hadid’s involvement in the campaign for the retro SL72 trainers. Hadid is an American whose family has roots in Palestine.

The apology, issued on Instagram, said: “Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign,” referring to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre when Israeli athletes were taken hostage by the Black September Organization, a Palestinian militant group. Eleven Israelis, a German police officer and five of the attackers died.

The statement continued: “These connections are not meant, and we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologise to our partners, Bella Hadid, ASAP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign.”

On Friday, the German-based company had said in a statement it was “revising the remainder of the campaign” after criticism over Hadid’s involvement by Israel on X. “Guess who the face of their campaign is?” read a post on Israel’s official account. “Bella Hadid, a model who has a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jews.”

Hadid had previously been criticized by Israel for allegedly chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” on a march in 2021.

Adidas was condemned by some Jewish organizations, with the American Jewish Committee labelling its decision as either a “massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory”. Others came out in support of Hadid. One fellow Adidas ambassador, the Palestinian-American author and activist Amani al-Khatahtbeh, posted an email she sent to Adidas on X, in which she said: “Bella Hadid is a model of Palestinian origin that has been a much-needed outspoken advocate for human right.” She added: “Adidas’s disappointing response conflates our Palestinian identity with terrorism.”

Hadid, 27, whose father is the Palestinian businessman Mohamed Hadid, has been vocal in her support for Palestine. In May she expressed her solidarity by wearing a dress crafted out of red and white keffiyehs during the film festival in Cannes. In 2023 she denounced the far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for saying Jewish settlers had more rights than Palestinians in occupied territories.

When she appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in 2021, she said on Instagram: “A Palestinian girl on the cover of Vogue. The joy it brings me to say that … I won’t stop talking about the systematic oppression, pain and humility that Palestinians face on a regular basis.”

Hadid, who recently launched her own wellness brand, has faced death threats for her outspoken support.

The apology to Hadid and her fellow Adidas partners comes amid reports that she is speaking to lawyers about her options.

A trend-setter across fashion, Hadid is perhaps particularly influential in the trainer space – she was a driver of the widespread popularity of the Adidas It-trainer, the Samba, which has been ubiquitous in recent years. She started wearing the SL72s, which are part of a campaign by Adidas to revive a series of its classic trainer models, earlier this year.

Source: theguardian.com

Bella Hadid has recently decided to hire lawyers against Adidas following her removal from the 1972 Munich Olympics campaign.

The source spilled to the US WEEKLY, “Bella is going to take legal action against Adidas for their lack of public accountability for putting out a campaign that would associate anyone with the death and violence of what took place at the 1972 Munich Games.”

The source noted, “Violence is not consistent with Bella’s views.”

The source revealed that Bella expressed her disappointment with Adidas because “they would reference the 1972 Olympics without recognising the historical context beforehand”.

The brand alleged that any connection made between the campaign and the tragic 1972 event was “completely unintentional”.

The shoe company apologised for the advertisement and said that they are “revising the remainder of the campaign”.

In a press statement, the company said, “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.”

“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,” shared the shoe company.

The commercial, which was for the SL72 trainers, opened up that Bella was featured sporting the sneakers while holding a bouquet of flowers as she stood in front of a red backdrop.

For the unversed, the 1972 Olympics was remembered for a tragic massacre that happened on September 5 of that year.

The outlet previously reported that eight members of the Palestinian Black September militant group took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage, with all victims being killed.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Adidas has pulled images of the model Bella Hadid from adverts promoting a sports shoe first launched to coincide with the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

The German-based sportswear company said it was “revising” its campaign after criticism from Israel over Hadid’s involvement.

The SL72 trainers, described by Adidas as a timeless classic, were promoted by Hadid, an American whose family has its roots in Palestine.

The model, who previously drew the ire of the Israeli government for allegedly chanting the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, has been accused of antisemitism.

Israel’s official account on X said it objected to Hadid as “the face of [the Adidas] campaign” in a post that noted that “eleven Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics”.

Hadid has repeatedly criticised the Israeli government and supported Palestinians over the years and on 23 October made a statement on Instagram lamenting the loss of innocent lives while calling on followers to pressure their leaders to protect civilians in Gaza.

Adidas said in a statement that the campaign for the SL72 shoe “unites a broad range of partners”. It said: “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.”

It did not set out what changes would be made. Other advertising images showing Adidas brand ambassadors including the French footballer Jules Koundé, the US rapper A$AP Nast and the Chinese model Sabrina Lan remain online.

Members of the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Olympic village on 5 September 1972. Eleven members of the Israeli team were taken hostage and killed.

It is not the first time that the sportswear company has cut ties with celebrity ambassadors after accusations of antisemitism.

Adidas ended its partnership with the rapper Kanye West in October 2022, saying it “does not tolerate antisemitism” after the rapper was suspended from Instagram and Twitter over offensive posts.

It said the comments and actions from West had been “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness”.

Source: theguardian.com

Bella Hadid’s new fragrance line launches today — and here’s everything we know so far about her latest venture.

Supplements, skincare, haircare… what’s Bella Hadid up to these days? Well, we finally have some answers. Following months of speculation surrounding the Palestinian-American model’s newest business endeavours, it’s time for customers to get properly introduced to Orebella, her brand-new fragrance line. Described on its website as the “first intentional skin parfum,” the first drop of the collection — available from May 2nd — introduces three scents: Blooming Fire, Window2Soul, and Salted Muse.

The formulas go beyond the already-expected cruelty-free, clean, and vegan promises, offering alcohol-free and hydrating solutions, elevated with essential oils. It’s an innovative move, promising a long-lasting effect by infusing the scent with your skin while amplifying the wearer’s aura. For a step even closer to Bella’s wellness commitment, the brand also bans 1,300 ingredients from its formulas to guarantee strict cleanliness and safety, responsibly sourcing all materials. And the perfume’s packaging, of course, is the cherry on top — a precious gem-like addition to your beauty counter.

Source: wonderlandmagazine.com