Bella Hadid has initiated a legal dispute with Adidas, reportedly engaging a team of lawyers to pursue a lawsuit against the sportswear brand.
Prior reports claimed that the company had dropped Bella after the uproar. However, TMZ’s sources have seemingly confirmed that the model’s contract with Adidas is still very much alive.
What is the Bella Hadid-Adidas controversy about?
The swelling issue turned into a controversy as Hadid was announced as the face of “Adidas’ next-It shoe”, and the campaign referenced the Munich Olympics, which became the contentious ground for an instance of harrowing historical violence.
The international multi-sports event was ultimately marred by the 1972 massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer were taken hostage and killed by a Palestinian militant group. This event unfolded against the backdrop of the persistent Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has continued unabated since October 7, 2023.
Though an American model born in Washington D.C. in 1996, Hadid’s father is Palestinian, and she herself identifies as a “proud Palestinian,” per a May 29 Instagram post.
“Palestine on my mind, in my blood and on my heart. Always… While I still have to go to work, even through this horror, to wear our culture makes me a proud Palestinian & I want the world to continue to see Palestine, wherever we go,” she captioned her post while highlighting designers who have been outspoken about the Palestinian cause through the years. She wore a Keffiyeh dress made by the fashion label Michael and Hushi.
Amidst the current controversy, an old speech by Hadid is also resurfacing. In video clips circulating online, she is heard stating, “I’m not afraid of losing modeling jobs. I will persist in speaking out for Palestine.”
The American Jewish Committee addressed the “egregious error” of picking “a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics” on X/Twitter on July 19.
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Though ardently vocal about her pro-Palestine stance, Hadid’s response to the campaign per the latest development on the legal horizon signifies that she fervently denounced the ad. It also insinuates that the star had no idea what she was getting into and is ready to make the brand pay for the unintentional defamation caused in the aftermath of the campaign going live.
Adidas issues apology for the advert
The athleisure brand has discontinued the advertisement and is in the process of revising it. The company has also removed all social media posts featuring Hadid from their recent campaign and has issued an apology for the “completely unintentional” associations with a tragic historical event.
“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,” Adidas said via a statement to USA Today on Thursday. “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.”
