The Full Adidas Bella Hadid Sneaker Ad Controversy, Explained

Adidas put supermodel Bella Hadid in an ad campaign for its SL72 sneaker, received backlash from the Israeli government over it, dropped her from the campaign, and is now being sued by Hadid for “lack of accountability” — all in the span of half a week. How did the release of a shoe cause all of this? Let’s break it down.

This whole mess starts with the Adidas SL72 silhouette, first released in conjunction with the 1972 Summer Olympics, which was held in the West German city of Munich. The games were meant to present West Germany (pre-unification) as a place of democratic optimism (in contrast to East Berlin) but were tragically overshadowed by the Munich massacre, which saw the Palestinian militant organization Black September infiltrate the Olympic Village during the games’ second week.

The militants took Israeli athletes hostage and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel and German prisons, when a gun battle with German police ensued, Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer.

Bella Hadid — who is of Palestinian descent — has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian plight and has become even more vocal amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has led the Israeli government to criticize Adidas’ choice to have Hadid star in the campaign of a shoe that is connected to such a horrific event.

Israel took to X last Thursday to voice its opposition to the campaign, tweeting directly at Adidas,

“Eleven Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics. Guess who the face of their campaign is? Bella Hadid, a half-Palestinian model who has a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jews.”

It should be noted that the SL72 has been back in rotation for a while now and has been a known favorite of Hadid’s, so the issue Israel has here isn’t with the sneaker itself, but rather the fact that the latest ad campaign prominently stars the model.

On Friday, Adidas pulled the ads featuring Hadid and decided to revise the remainder of the campaign. Speaking to NBC News, Adidas said:

“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events… and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” pointing out that any connections to the Munich Massacre were “completely unintentional.”

On Saturday, TMZ reported that sources familiar with the situation told the outlet that Hadid has hired legal counsel and is taking action against Adidas for a lack of public accountability, and is upset at Adidas for putting out a campaign that would associate her with the Munich Massacre, noting that violence runs in contrast with Hadid’s personal views.

Since the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip began in early October 2023, Hadid has called for a ceasefire and expressed support for the Palestinian civilians in the region. That said, Hadid is one of many celebrities this year who have lost deals or work due to their support of Palestine. The growing list includes Susan Sarandon, Melissa Barrera, and Maha Dakhil.

Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, many celebrities in addition to Hadid have expressed support for Palestinian civilians including Bradley Cooper, Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Lopez, Jenna Ortega, Mark Ruffalo, and many more, who have all signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

It looks like Adidas is going forward with its revival of the SL72, but Hadid will not be the face of the campaign going forward. Currently, Bella Hadid remains under contract with Adidas, though we can’t imagine that’ll last for much longer.