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Model Bella Hadid called out Adidas for the "lack of sensitivity" for including her in a 1972 Olympics-inspired sneaker campaign following criticism which drew connections to the Palestinian terror attack which killed 11 Israeli athletes.
The German-based sportswear company included Hadid in its advertising for SL72 shoes, inspired by the 1972 Olympic Games, the Associated Press reported. Then, critics, including the State of Israel objected to Hadid as "the face of their campaign."
The inclusion of a "vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory," the American Jewish Committee said.
Adidas apologized and proceeded to remove Hadid from the campaign. Hadid responded by saying she "never would have participated" had she known about the terror attack.
Anti-Israel model Bella Hadid gets into hot water for Adidas ad campaign inspired by 1972 Olympics. (Getty | Adobe Stock)
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"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 company said.
"I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated," Hadid said in an apology on Monday.
In 1972, Palestinian terrorists from Black September took Israeli athletes hostage and then brutally killed all 11 of them in the span of 20 hours. The gruesome details of torture were first revealed to the public in 2015. The terrorists castrated weightlifter Yossef Romano after he tried to stop the attack in its early stages. The forensics of the bodies of other Israeli athletes revealed severe injuries from beatings, such as bone fractures.
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At the time, Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir responded to the attacks with a covert Mossad revenge operation dubbed "Wrath of God", which tracked down and assassinated at least 11 targets who were presumed to be involved in the planning or orchestration of the Munich attack.
"I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972," Hadid added in her apology statement. "My team should have known, adidas should have known, and I should have done more research so that I too would have known."
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators burn a U.S. flag, on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
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The IMG model then said, "Connecting the liberation of the Palestinian people to an attack so tragic… Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism and this campaign unintentionally highlighted an event that does not represent who we are."
"We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologize to our campaign We are revising the campaign," Adidas said the campaign for the SL72 shoe.
Hadid's representative was contacted for comment. Adidas, when contacted, referred Fox News Digital to a prior statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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