American-Palestinian model Bella Hadid spoke out against an Adidas advertising campaign that inadvertently referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In an Instagram story, Hadid said she is “shocked” and “upset” over the “lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign.”
The campaign, which aimed to promote the retro SL72 trainers, included imagery linked to the Munich Olympics, an event in which 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed by Palestinian group Black September, according to a report from BBC.
“I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” the model stressed.
Adidas swiftly responded to the backlash from Israelis, issuing an apology and confirming that Hadid would be removed from the campaign.
The German sportswear giant admitted that the connection to the Munich attack was “unintentional” and pledged to revise the campaign.
Retracting Hadid from the model gave rise to an online campaign calling for boycotting the sportswear company.
Known as an advocate for Palestine, Hadid stressed her commitment to peace and denounced antisemitism. “I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism. That will never waver, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent,” she said.
The controversy unfolded against a backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, where over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the nearly 10-month war.