Adidas drops Bella Hadid from campaign due to Palestinian advocacy, sparking boycott calls

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) — German sportswear giant Adidas is facing backlash and growing calls for a boycott after dropping American-Palestinian model Bella Hadid from a recent ad campaign.

Following criticism from Israel, Adidas removed Hadid, who has long been vocal about Palestinian rights, from a retro shoe campaign referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Hadid has hired a legal team in response to the incident, according to the Daily Mail, which cited a source familiar with the situation.

On Sunday, the brand apologized for "any upset or distress caused" by its ad campaign.

- Learn the ‘hard way’

Following the company's decision, social media users have rallied in Hadid’s defense, calling for a boycott of Adidas products.

“Bella Hadid is a hero! Hope @adidas will suffer from boycotting,” one user said.

Chiming in, another said, “Sorry guys, not buying Adidas because of their gutless treatment of Bella Hadid.”

“After the Bella Hadid case, we will say bye @adidas. Those who encourage genocide criminals shouldn’t get any coin from our money won honestly. Arabs and pro-Palestinian boycott is being an earthquake on Starbucks and McDonald's...Adidas, adios!” another user commented.

Speaking to Anadolu, British political commentator Sami Hamdi highlighted the effect boycotts have had on other companies perceived to be supporting Israel as it wages its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

“McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, and other brands are already suffering the impact of boycott movements in Muslim-majority countries, with many of these brands finding themselves forced to shut down a whole host of branches. There are already calls to boycott Adidas in the same way,” he said.

In the case of the sportswear brand, Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian activist, told Anadolu that it has been guilty of “targeting celebrities and famous people who support the Palestinian struggle.”

“I think there could very well be a boycott against the products of Adidas in which they would have to learn this lesson in a hard way by targeting their profits because they have been preferring profits over principles,” said Al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University.

According to him, the actions of Adidas and other multinational corporations have sparked outcry in the Arab and Muslim world for targeting pro-Palestinian and pro-boycott celebrities.

The stance that many of these celebrities have taken is a matter of principle against an ideology that is “supremacist and racist and for the benefit of some group to be dominant over another group.”

“For such corporations, to support this Israeli and Zionist regime, they have to pay a price and that price has to hurt their pocketbook in which the profits that they bring from the Muslim world of over 1.8 billion people, which is a huge market for them, need to be targeted, and the boycott against Adidas must be part and parcel of this struggle.”

- Profits at risk

Adidas' 2023 annual report shows that Europe, the Middle East, and Africa account for the largest share of its net sales at 39%, totaling €8.2 billion ($8.9 billion).

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales amounted to €2.3 billion, or 11% of global distribution. These two parts of the world together represent 50% of Adidas' sales.

Considering the significant Muslim population in these regions, this raises questions about how Adidas’ stance will impact its 2024 sales. The recent experiences of brands like Starbucks and McDonald’s in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Gaza come to mind.

In February, McDonald’s said the conflict had “meaningfully impacted” its sales in the last quarter of 2023, particularly in the Middle East and in Muslim-majority countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

“So long as this war is going on ... we're not expecting to see any significant improvement (in these markets),” said CEO Chris Kempczinski.

In March, the Middle East franchisee of Starbucks announced that it was firing around 2,000 employees at its coffee shops across the region because of the boycotts over the Gaza war.

- Adidas not backing down on Hadid decision

After the uproar, Adidas extended an apology to partners, including Hadid, saying: “We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Kounde, and others, for any negative impact on them, and we are revising the campaign.”

However, it stopped short of reversing its decision but announced plans to revise the campaign, in what could affect a significant portion of its revenues.

- ‘Height of hypocrisy’

“Dropping Bella Hadid, who is very famous in fashion and modeling, from its campaign is to cow to Israel’s pressure so that the issue of Palestine could not be advocated by such celebrities. Bella Hadid's heritage is Palestinian, and they should have known that Bella Hadid has been outspoken on the issue of Palestine,” Al-Arian said.

Al-Arian accused Adidas of broader complicity in undermining Palestinian rights.

“For them to contract her and then drop her is just the height of such hypocrisy when it comes to the issue of Palestine. Israel has been pressuring these multinational corporations in order not to support celebrities and famous people who advocate for the Palestinian struggle.”

- ‘Growing panic in Tel Aviv’

According to Hamdi, the managing director of political risk firm The International Interest, Tel Aviv is increasingly distressed over increasingly negative public perceptions of it.

“There is growing panic in Tel Aviv at the extent to which Israel has lost its monopoly over the public narrative,” he stated.

He explained that Israel is aware it is becoming a pariah and that its allies in policymaking circles are growing uncomfortable at the pressure that an increasingly pro-Palestinian public is exerting.

“Israel, therefore is lashing out at brands that even remotely suggest Palestinian sympathies in a desperate bid to suffocate Palestinian voices that have been so effective in shifting public opinion.”

In the German context, Israel was initially encouraged by Berlin’s support. But recently, Germany has indicated it would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if an arrest warrant is issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) following an application in May.

And after Adidas hired Hadid, this caused jitters in Tel Aviv, which took the move as an indication of a remarkable shift within Germany.

“The hiring, then dropping of Bella Hadid reflects the confusion and uncertainty in Germany and Adidas as to how to navigate a guilty conscience over a genocide of the past with an increasingly vocal public opinion denouncing the genocide of today.”