Adidas drops Bella Hadid from commercial campaign after Israel backlash.

New York: Adidas removed Bella Hadid from its 1972 Munich Olympics SL72 trainer promotion. The decision followed Israel’s criticism of Hadid’s role.

Hadid’s ardent advocacy for Palestinian causes has brought Israeli government censure. Israel’s official X account opposed Hadid as the campaign’s face, citing Black September’s 1972 Olympics killings of eleven Israelis.

Adidas apologized for any sadness, saying that while the campaign meant to unite various partners, inadvertent links to historical tragedies spurred its revision. The advertisement also features French player Jules Koundé, US rapper A$AP Nast, and Chinese model Sabrina Lan.

Adidas has already broken relations over antisemitic allegations. Adidas discontinued its connection with Kanye West in 2022 because his abusive posts breached corporate ideals.