"Stunned"

Bella Hadid sues Adidas for damage to reputation

Bella Hadid is furious with Adidas.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Christophe SIMON)

The new Adidas SL72 retro shoe in memory of the Summer Olympics in Munich turned into a PR disaster for the German company. 

After a shitstorm, the advertising campaign with Bella Hadid was withdrawn. Now the supermodel with Palestinian roots has announced a lawsuit against Adidas and has already hired a team of lawyers.

Munich massacre "overlooked"
The red SL72 was a new edition of the sneaker that athletes first wore at the 1972 Olympics. Which was probably a bad idea in itself. Adidas then also hired Bella Hadid for their large-scale advertising campaign - even though her father Mohamed is a native Palestinian and the 27-year-old openly supports a free Palestine.

For many, this created a sad connection to the Munich massacre. During the Summer Olympics, the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September had infiltrated the Olympic village and taken Israeli athletes hostage. Eleven athletes and one police officer were killed in a failed rescue operation.

"Bella is stunned"
On July 19, Adidas announced "that we will change the advertising" and withdrew it: "We never wanted to draw the connection between the SL72 campaign and the terrible tragedy at the Olympic Games in Munich."

Adidas also publicly apologized to Bella Hadid on social media "for any negative effect our unintentional mistake may have caused". But that is not enough for the 27-year-old, who has had an advertising contract with Adidas for years.

An acquaintance told TMZ: "Bella is stunned that Adidas would associate her with the Munich massacre. She hates violence." Hadid's lawyers want to sue Adidas for damaging their client's reputation.