Bella Hadid has responded to the controversy surrounding her involvement in an Adidas campaign that was pulled following criticism.
The US supermodel had been the face of the campaign for a relaunched shoe from the 1972 Munich Olympics – a games at which 11 members of the Israeli team were killed by pro-Palestinian terrorists.
Hadid – whose father is Palestinian – has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza amid its war with Hamas, recently donating $1m to Palestinian relief efforts with her sister Gigi Hadid.
Adidas apologised to the model after reports suggested Hadid was considering legal action against them.
The 27-year-old has now broken her silence, saying she did not know about the historical context and would “never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind”.
“I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”
She said her team and Adidas “should have known” and she should have done more research and “spoken up”.
“While everyone’s intentions were to make something positive, and bring people together through art, the collective lack of understanding from all parties undermined the process,” she continued.
“I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism. That will never waiver, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent.”
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Why was the Adidas campaign pulled?
Palestinian terrorists from the militant group Black September entered the Olympic village during the 1972 Games and kidnapped members of the Israel team, in an incident which would become known as the Munich Massacre.
During the incident, which ended in a failed rescue attempt, 11 Israeli team members – five athletes and six coaches –were killed, as well as a German police officer and five of the terrorists.
The SL 72 campaign attempted to revive the “classic” trainer first created for Adidas athletes at the Munich Olympics.
An ad that appeared across Adidas platforms and a Times Square billboard featured Hadid wearing the trainers while holding flowers.
The American Jewish Committee said Adidas was using “a vocal anti-Israel model” for the campaign, which they said “is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory”.
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Hadid condemned the connection between “the liberation of the Palestinian people” and an antisemitic attack, saying “Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism and this campaign unintentionally highlighted an event that does not represent who we are”.
“I am a proud Palestinian woman and there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been equated over the past week,” she wrote.
“I will forever stand by my people of Palestine while continuing to advocate for a world free of antisemitism. Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people.
“I will always stand for peace over violence, any day. Hate has no place here, and I will forever advocate for not only my people, but every person worldwide.”
After pulling the adverts, Adidas said in a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News: “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.
“As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign.”