Adidas apologizes to Bella Hadid for controversial Munich 1972 Olympics ad campaign amid lawsuit scare
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Adidas has apologized for the second time within a week over their controversial Munich Olympics-themed ad.
In their latest statement, the athletic apparel and footwear corporation emphasized that it “made an unintentional mistake.”
“We also apologise to our partners, Bella Hadid, ASAP Nast, Jules Kounde, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign,” the statement read, per TMZ.
What did Adidas say in their 1st apology regarding the Munich Olympics-themed ad?
Earlier, the sports brand said on Sunday, July 20, “Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign.”
It added, “These connections are not meant and we apologise for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world.”
The German company found itself in the middle of a controversy for bringing in Hadid, who has openly supported Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The supermodel promoted its SL 72 sneakers inspired by the 1972 Games, where a Palestinian militant group killed 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer.
“I’m not afraid to lose modeling jobs & I will continue to speak up on Palestine” @adidas you will not silence Bella or the supporters of Palestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/CTMF1Zt2oJ
— َ (@bellalooks) July 18, 2024
On Thursday, July 18, Adidas addressed the growing criticism and said it is ‘revising’ the ad and making an ‘unintentional’ reference to the terrorist attack.
“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 brand said in their statement.
“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,” they added.
Though the first apology statement didn’t refer to any names of celebrities involved in the campaign, the second one mentioned the stars.
This interestingly comes after US Weekly reported that the 27-year-old is in talks with her attorneys amid the backlash.
adidas just deleted bella hadid’s campaign because they chose to believe the boldface lies israel say about her simply because she’s palestinian instead of standing up for her. shame on both of them & the zionists that supports their actions of silencing bella and her people. https://t.co/IGLVHGX67B pic.twitter.com/pHs1oeWQGV
— ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ (@HE4VENZONE) July 18, 2024
Internet wonders how the Adidas' ad got approved
Netizens held Adidas accountable for the unnecessary controversy with their ad campaign by linking their sneakers release with the Munich Olympics, which didn't go well with many.
One person slammed Adidas on Facebook, "This is disgusting. They knew what they were doing."
"Bella is such beautiful woman , inside and out , standing for what is right .." the second defended Hadid.
A user questioned, "It's hard to imagine how this got through the marketing team at Adidas. Dang!"
"This reminds me of Kendal Jenner and that awful Pepsi commercial…but like WAY WORST!" another shared.
A person opined, "Bella is going to have to sue unless she wants to be associated with this given her own heritage... even if she doesn't want to..."
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
