Bella Hadid has hired a legal team after pulling her Adidas SL72 sneaker campaign, which she was removed from following negative backlash, a source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com.
Adidas last week dropped 27-year-old pro-Palestinian model Bella from an advertising campaign for retro sneakers that referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics, which were overshadowed by a massacre of Israeli athletes.
Now Hadid is hiring a legal team following the controversy, citing the brand’s lack of accountability for its role in the backlash, a source told DailyMail.com.
Adidas recently relaunched the SL72, a sneaker first shown off by athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, as part of a series that breathes new life into the classics.
Bella is still under contract with the company and Adidas has apologized, saying there was never any reference to the tragedy and there are plans to revise the ad.
Bella Hadid, 27, has hired a legal team after her pulled Adidas SL72 sneaker campaign sparked outrage from fans; the model was photographed in France in May
Bella announced the campaign with a post on social media
A source said TMZ Bella is concerned that Adidas would launch a campaign that would link someone to a tragedy like the Munich massacre; a source also told We weekly that ‘violence does not fit with Bella’s beliefs.’
Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich after gunmen from Black September entered the Olympic Village and took them hostage.
Hadid, born in the US and the daughter of Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, has long been an open supporter of Palestinian rights.
On July 19, Adidas announced that it would immediately “review” the remainder of the campaign, without specifying how.
“We recognize that connections have been made to tragic historical events – although these are entirely unintentional – and we apologize for any upset or distress this may have caused,” the company said in a statement.
The explanation continued: ‘As a result, we are reviewing the rest of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force across the world and will continue our efforts to promote diversity and equality in everything we do.’
Photos of the model wearing red, retro Adidas shoes sparked outrage among pro-Israel groups.
On Sunday morning, Adidas Originals’ Instagram account posted a statement via the app’s Stories feature addressing the outcry.
They apologized to Hadid and several other partners for any “negative impact” they may have experienced.
It started like this: ‘Connections are still being made with the terrible tragedy that took place at the Munich Olympics, because of our recent SL71 campaign.’
Last week, the German sportswear brand removed its ad, which starred 27-year-old Bella and referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics, after fans took to social media to express their anger over the killing of 11 Israeli athletes.
The campaign rollout was celebrated with a party in New York City on July 11
On Sunday morning, Adidas Originals’ Instagram account posted a statement regarding the outcry via the app’s Stories feature
The message continued: ‘These connections were not intended and we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world.
We made an unintentional mistake.
“We also apologize to our partners Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé and others for the negative impact this has had on them. We are reviewing the campaign.”