(NewsNation) — Adidas pulled a new campaign featuring Bella Hadid honoring the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics after the state of Israel criticized the ad, but the model is fighting back, taking legal action against Adidas for its “lack of public accountability.”
The ad campaign by the German-based sportswear brand was for its SL72 shoes, which were inspired by a design from the 1972 Olympics, an event marred by the killing of 11 Israeli athletes by the Palestinian militia group Black September after it broke into the Olympic Village.
After Adidas posted pictures of Hadid promoting the shoe, the state of Israel criticized the campaign, saying in an X post Thursday, “Guess who the face of their campaign is? Bella Hadid, a model who has a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jews.”
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, has been a vocal supporter of Palestine and the Palestinian people for years.
After facing backlash for selecting Hadid as the campaign’s face, Adidas swiftly pulled the ads and apologized.
“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,” Adidas said in a statement, adding, “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.”
Now, a US Weekly report says Hadid has retained litigation counsel to take 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,” citing an insider familiar with the situation.
The source added that “Violence is not consistent with Bella’s views,” noting corporations’ responsibility to vet their campaigns and the historical context surrounding them.
Adidas issued another apology following Hadid hiring attorneys, saying, “We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign.”
Hadid hasn’t spoken out against the decision to pull the campaign but is instead upset about the reference to the 1972 Olympics without acknowledging the historical context beforehand, according to the US Weekly report.
“For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable,” the American Jewish Community tweeted in response to the controversy.
Hadid has yet to comment publicly on the situation. She shared a picture earlier this week of herself on Instagram standing by an Adidas billboard, but as of July 20, the post has been deleted.
