Supermodel Bella Hadid has finally broken her silence on the Adidas controversy for 1927 Munich Olympics shoe honouring the 52nd anniversary.
In a lengthy post to her Instagram stories on July 29 Hadid wrote, "For those of you that do not know my heart, I want to make sure you’re hearing directly from me about my recent campaign with Adidas. I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind. In advance of the campaign release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972."
She added, " I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated."
"My team should have known, adidas should have known and I should have done more research so that I too would have known and understood, and spoken up. As I always have, and always will, speak up for what I believe to be wrong. While everyone’s intentions were to make something positive, and bring people together through art, the collective lack of understanding from all parties undermined the process," the 27-year-old continued.
She elaborated, "I do not believe in hate in any form, including antisemitism. That will never waiver, and I stand by that statement to the fullest extent."
Hadid then concluded her post saying, "I will forever stand by my people of Palestine while continuing to advocate for a world free of antisemitism. Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people. I will always stand for peace over violence, any day. Hate has no place here, and I will forever advocate for not only my people, but every person world wide."
To note, Bella Hadid felt disappointed saying it 'hurt her heart' that so many people drew a wide connection between this Adidas campaign and the current liberation of the Palestinian people.
