Bella Hadid has hired a legal team in the wake of the pull of her Adidas SL72 sneaker campaign after she was removed from the advert following backlash, a source familiar with the situation told DailyMail.com.
Last week, Adidas removed pro-Palestinian model Bella, 27, from a retro sneaker advertising campaign that referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics, which were overshadowed by a massacre of Israeli athletes.
Hadid is now hiring a legal team following the controversy. According to a source to DailyMail.com, the brand has not taken responsibility for its role in the backlash.
Adidas recently relaunched the SL72, a shoe first worn by athletes at the 1972 Games, as part of a series reviving its classics.
Bella is still under contract with the company and Adidas has apologised, insisting it never intended to reference the tragedy and announcing plans to revise the advert.
Bella Hadid, 27, has hired a legal team following the pull of her Adidas SL72 sneaker campaign, which sparked fan outrage; the model pictured in May in France
Bella announced the campaign with a post on social media.
A source said TMZ Bella is concerned that Adidas would launch a campaign that connects someone to a tragedy like the Munich Massacre; and a source also told her We weekly that ‘violence is not consistent with Bella’s views’.
Eleven Israeli athletes and a German policeman were killed at the 1972 Munich Games after Black September gunmen stormed the Olympic village and took them hostage.
Hadid, who was born in the United States and is the daughter of Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, has long expressed support for Palestinian rights.
On July 19, Adidas said it would “review the remainder of the campaign” with immediate effect, without specifying how.
“We are aware that connections have been made to tragic historical events, albeit entirely unintentionally, and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” the company said in a statement.
The explanation continues: “As a result, we are reviewing the remainder of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do.”
Images of the model wearing the retro red Adidas shoes sparked outrage among pro-Israel groups.
On Sunday morning, Adidas Originals’ Instagram account posted a statement in reference to the uproar via the app’s Stories feature.
They apologized to Hadid and several other partners for “any negative impact” they may have incurred.
He began by saying: ‘Connections continue to be made with the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics thanks to our recent SL71 campaign.’
Last week, the German sportswear brand pulled its advert, which starred 27-year-old Bella and referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics, after fans took to social media to express their anger in reference to the murders of 11 Israeli athletes.
The campaign launch was celebrated with a celebration in New York City on July 11.
On Sunday morning, Adidas Originals’ Instagram account posted a statement in reference to the uproar via the app’s Stories feature.
The message went on to say: ‘These connections are not intentional 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 any negative impact on them and are reviewing the campaign.’
