Bella Hadid vs. Adidas: What to know

It has been a roller coaster of a week since sportswear giant Adidas unveiled its latest campaign with supermodel Bella Hadid as the face. What began with Hadid celebrating the launch in Times Square surrounded by fans and flowers has descended into a potential legal battle against Adidas and outrage from global communities.

Earlier in July, Hadid was joined by A$AP Nast and Jules Koundé to be the face of the relaunch campaign for Adidas’ SL 72 sneaker, which was brought back in five modernised colourways. The shoe had initially been released during the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Relaunch of shoe linked to Munich Olympics sparks outrage

To celebrate the campaign’s launch, Hadid surprised fans in New York’s Times Square by showing up in a branded Adidas bus adorned with flowers to pose in front of a large billboard starring herself sporting gear by the brand.

Just days later, however, all evidence of the campaign was removed from both Adidas and Hadid’s social media, with the sportswear brand then stating that it was “revising” the campaign in light of criticism from Israel.

The move appeared to be in response to a post on Israel’s official X [formerly Twitter] account, which stated: “Adidas recently launched a new campaign for their shoes to highlight the 1972 Munich Olympics. 11 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics.”

The post went on to accuse Hadid, who is half-Palestinian, of “spreading antisemitism and calling for violence”, before requesting a comment from Adidas.

Hadid has been vocal in her support for Palestine, having taken part in a number of initiatives and regularly posting on social media to bring awareness to the war currently taking place in the region.

Hadid reportedly mulling legal action against Adidas

In its own statement to the media, Adidas 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. 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.”

It is now being reported that Hadid is mulling legal action against Adidas in the face of the accusations. According to a source for TMZ, litigation counsel for the model is considering taking action against the brand for its “lack of public accountability” for releasing a campaign that “would associate anyone with the death and violence of what took place at the 1972 Munich Olympics”.

It would be yet another celebrity-linked blow for Adidas, which has only just begun gaining ground after struggling with financial fallout from its Yeezy partnership and the dismissal of its former relationship with Beyonce’s Ivy Park.

Prior to the Hadid campaign release, analysts had projected strong Q2 results due to the resurgence of its Samba and Gazelle silhouettes, with Adidas then upping its forecast for the year as revenues rose 11 percent for the quarter.