Adidas apologizes to Bella Hadid following backlash over shoe ad linked to 1972 Munich Olympics

Adidas has apologized to Bella Hadid after the company pulled an ad that was linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics that featured the model. In the ad, Hadid wears shoes modeled after Adidas' SL72 sneakers, a design used at the 1972 Summer Games that were overshadowed by tragedy when members of the Palestinian group Black September killed two athletes from Israel's national team. 

Adidas, a German company, and Hadid received backlash for the ad. Adidas pulled the ad on Saturday and apologized, saying they were "revising the remainder of the campaign."

On Sept. 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Olympic Village, taking more than nine hostages and killing two Israeli athletes, to try to force the release of Palestinian prisoners and two left-wing extremists being held in Israel and West Germany. During a rescue attempt by German forces, the nine hostages and a West German police officer were killed.

In a new statement posted on social media Monday, Adidas said while connections continued to be made to the Munich Olympics, their SL72 campaign was not meant to reference the tragic event. "[A]nd we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake," the company wrote.

"We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign," the statement continued.

The campaign also featured rapper A$AP Nast and French soccer player Jules Koundé, among other models. The shoes are still available for purchase online. 

Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, has urged people to support and protect civilians in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas. Hadid has posted frequently about the war since it broke out Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.

She has often posted about her Palestinian pride and has publicly criticized the Israeli government.

After the ad was released, several people criticized Adidas and Hadid. "For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable. We call on Adidas to address this egregious error," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement on social media.

In the wake of the criticism, Hadid was rumored to have hired a legal team to sue Adidas, TMZ first reported.

She has not publicly posted about the controversial campaign, but she did delete images of herself wearing the SL72 from social media.

While Hadid and Adidas received backlash online, her Instagram was flooded with comments of support, with many saying she is "too good for Adidas" and others saying they would boycott the company.

Adidas has a history of Nazi ties. The company's founders, brothers Adolf "Adi" and Rudolf Dassler, were members of the Nazi party. According to Adi Dassler's biography on the Adi & Käthe Dassler Memorial Foundation website, the brothers were pressured to join the party to maintain their company. Adi Dassler also supervised the Hitler Youth Sports league in the town where the company was headquartered, according to the foundation.

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces "The Uplift," CBS News' streaming show that focuses on good news.