‘Shocked, upset and disappointed’: Bella Hadid speaks out after Adidas shoe campaign

Bella Hadid has said she would “never have participated” in the shoe campaign inspired by the infamous Munich Olympics, had she “been made aware” of the “historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972” where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

It’s the model and activist’s first public statement since Adidas dropped her from fronting the campaign for the SL 72 OG shoe.

As reported by Jewish News, on 18th July the sporting giant apologised for any “upset or distress caused” by the re-issue of its 1972 Munich Olympic trainer with Palestinian Hadid as its campaign face.

The company had faced intense international criticism for the perceived insensitivity of the choice of an outspoken critic of Israel as the face of a shoe named for a sporting event where 11 Jews were murdered.

Taking to Instagram, Hadid said she “would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind.”

She criticises her management team and Adidas for allegedly not knowing about the historical links and adds that “I should have done more research so that I too would have known and understood.”

Describing herself as a “proud Palestinian woman”, she adds: “Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people” and that “Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism and this campaign unintentionally highlighted an event that does not represent who we are.”

The reaction on social media has been incredulous, with journalist Emily Schrader writing: “Bella Hadid expects the world to believe she wasn’t aware of the 1972 Munich massacre committed by her own people. No one believes you Bella.”

Another poster wrote: “So Bella Hadid’s excuse for endorsing the terrorist acts of Palestinians at the 1972 Olympics is that she is both completely ignorant of one of the most significant historical events in a cause she claims at the center of her identity & that neither she nor her team uses Google.”

Jewish account ‘Kosher’ simply wrote: “Okay, sure thing Hadidas.”