As the Daily Mail reports, the shoes were originally designed for the athletes at the Munich Games, where the Palestinian terrorist group Black September kidnapped and murdered Jewish athletes and coaches.
Hadid, who is outspokenly pro-Palestine, was chosen to present the SL72 range following she sparked backlash last month for allegedly spreading fake news that Hamas had given one of the hostages a birthday cake.
He has also been accused of “fanning the flames of anti-Semitism” by calling the Jewish state “superior” and declaring: “Jesus was Palestinian.”
Fuck Adidas. pic.twitter.com/Vf58NUXtgF
— Ridvan Aydemir | Apostate Prophet (@ApostateProphet) July 18, 2024
A spokesman for the Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism told the Daily Mail: “For Adidas to choose Bella Hadid, someone who is constantly bashing Jews and attacking the Jewish state, is bad enough. But to have her launch a shoe reminiscent of the Olympics where so much Jewish blood was spilled is just sick.”
Another group, Stand With Us UK, said there was “a terrible irony” in promoting the 1972 Munich Games with a model “who has herself spread lies and misinformation regarding Israel”. He added: “Adidas should be ashamed.”
Adidas’ response to the backlash
However, following the uproar with Adidas’ decision to use Bella Hadid to promote the retro sneaker campaign, a representative of the company proceeded with statements: “We are aware that connections have been made with tragic historical events – although these are completely unintentional – and We apologize for any inconvenience or distress caused. Therefore, we are reviewing the rest 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.”
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