Bella Hadid has responded to the controversy surrounding her participation in an Adidas campaign that was withdrawn after criticism.
The American supermodel had been the face of the campaign for a re-released shoe from the 1972 Munich Olympics, a game in which 11 members of the Israeli team were murdered by pro-Palestinian terrorists.
hadid -whose father is Palestinian- has openly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza in the midst of his war with Hamasrecently donated $1 million to Palestinian relief efforts with his sister Gigi Hadid.
adidas he apologized 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 the historical context and would “never consciously engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrible tragedy of any kind.”
“I am shocked, upset and disappointed by the lack of sensitivity in this campaign,” she wrote on Instagram.
“If I had been aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”
She said her team and Adidas “should have known” and that she should have done more research and “spoken up.”
“While everyone’s intentions were to do something positive and bring people together through art, the lack of collective understanding on all sides undermined the process,” he continued.
“I do not believe in any form of hate, including anti-Semitism. That will never change and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent.”
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 that would become known as the Munich Massacre.
During the incident, which ended in a failed rescue attempt, 11 members of the Israeli team – five athletes and six coaches –They were killed, as were a German police officer and five of the terrorists.
The SL 72 campaign attempted to revive the “classic” sneakers first created for Adidas athletes at the Munich Olympics.
An ad that appeared on Adidas platforms and a Times Square billboard showed Hadid wearing the sneakers while holding flowers.
The American Jewish Committee said Adidas was using “an anti-Israel template” for the campaign, which they said “is either massively careless or intentionally inflammatory.”
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Hadid condemned the connection between “the liberation of the Palestinian people” and an anti-Semitic attack, saying that “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 always support my people of Palestine as I continue to advocate for a world free of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people.
“I will always defend peace over violence, any day. Hate has no place here, and I will always defend not only my people, but all people around the world.”
After removing the ads, Adidas said in a statement to NBC News, Sky’s US partner network: “We are aware that connections have been made to tragic historical events, although completely unintentional, and we apologize for any upset or distress caused. .
“That’s why we’re reviewing the rest of the campaign.”
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