 "Bella Hadid and the cost celebrities pay for backing Palestinians")
American model Bella Hadid, a vocal pro-Palestinian, is in the eye of the storm. Her advertising campaign for Adidas has been dropped by the sportswear company after Israel’s objection.
The adverts promoting a shoe first launched at the time of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games irked Israel, leading to Adidas removing Bella from the campaign.
What happened? How have celebrities’ work suffered for backing Palestine? Let’s take a look.
Bella Hadid dropped from Adidas ad
Adidas has taken down images of Bella promoting the retro SL72 shoe, which was inspired by a design from the 1972 Munich Olympics, as per an Al Jazeera report.
During the event in 1972, members of the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes hostage.
All 11 Israelis, a German policeman and five Palestinian attackers were killed in the gunfight that erupted during rescue efforts.
Bella, whose father is Palestinian, has previously angered the Israeli government for allegedly chanting the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, as per The Guardian.
The 27-year-old has also supported Palestinians and criticised the Israeli government over the years.
Taking to X, the Israeli embassy in Germany slammed Adidas for choosing Bella as “the face of the campaign”. “Guess who the face of the campaign is? Bella Hadid, a model with Palestinian roots who has spread anti-Semitism in the past and incited violence against Israelis and Jews,” it wrote on Thursday (July 18).
Impact Shorts
More Shorts.@Adidas hat kürzlich eine neue Kampagne für seine Schuhe gestartet, die an die Olympischen Spiele 1972 in München erinnert.
— Botschaft Israel (@IsraelinGermany) July 18, 2024
Während der Olympischen Spiele in München wurden elf Israelis von palästinensischen Terroristen ermordet.
Raten Sie mal, wer das Gesicht der Kampagne… pic.twitter.com/zPDzSdPhib
Objecting to Bella’s ad, Israel’s official account said that “eleven Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics”.
On Friday, Adidas pulled images of Bella promoting the shoe. The German sports brand said it would be “revising the remainder of the campaign” without elaborating further.
“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events – though these are completely unintentional – and we apologise for any upset or distress caused,” AFP quoted the company as saying.
Adidas said it would continue the SL72 campaign with French footballer Jules Koundé, the US rapper A$AP Nast and the Chinese model Sabrina Lan.
This is not the first time the German brand has axed celebrity ambassadors over allegations of antisemitism.
In October 2022, Adidas cut ties with the rapper Kanye West after he was suspended from Instagram and Twitter (now X) for anti-semitic posts.
Other celebrities who lost work
Thelma & Louise star Susan Sarandon is among the big names who have faced consequences due to their support for Palestine.
Last year, the Oscar-winning actor was dropped by her talent agency – the United Talent Agency (UTA) – after her remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. She had said, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.”
Her remarks came in the aftermath of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in the death of about 1,200 people and a hundred others were taken hostage in Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas, killing 38,848 people in the narrow strip and wounding over 89,000 others in the conflict that continues to this day.
Speaking to NPR in March, Sarandon, who has been supporting Palestinians for years, said she was “shocked” by her agency’s decision, saying her comments were taken out of context.
The veteran actor said while the “isolation from my tribe” was “painful”, she would continue to call for a ceasefire.
Vida actor Melissa Barrera was penalised for her Instagram posts that demanded a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas. Last November, she was axed from the Scream horror film franchise over resharing posts and articles that described Israel as a “colonised land” and likening Israeli forces’ attacks to “genocide and ethnic cleansing”, noted Time magazine.
Spyglass Media Group which produces the Scream films claimed some of her social media posts had been interpreted as antisemitic.
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass representative told Variety at the time.
Barrera later said that she condemned “Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia” and would “continue to speak out for those that need it most.”
According to Newsweek, former adult film star Mia Khalifa’s reference to Hamas militants as “freedom fighters” resulted in Playboy ending its podcasting deal with her and magic mushroom brand Red Light Holland sacking her as an adviser.
Maha Dakhil, one of the top agents in Hollywood, faced flak over her social media posts, including one that said: “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening”.
She was demoted by her Creative Arts Agency (CAA) before she apologised and told Variety she had “made a mistake.”
As per the Independent, Dakhil’s biggest client, Tom Cruise, backed his agent and is believed to have “saved her” from getting fired.
A divided Hollywood
Israel’s war in Gaza has exposed a wide rift within Hollywood, with some backing the Palestinian cause and others publicly declaring support for Israel.
Last October, Hollywood stars such as Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Selena Gomez, Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Lopez, Lupita Nyong’o, Jenna Ortega, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo were among the more than 300 people who signed a letter addressed to United States president Joe Biden, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
On the other hand, actors like Gal Gadot, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Seinfeld, Mayim Bialik, Chris Pine and Michael Douglas signed a letter by the Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) supporting Israel.
The letter called for the “entertainment community to speak out forcefully against Hamas, to support Israel, to refrain from sharing misinformation about the war, and do whatever is in their power to urge the terrorist organisation to return the innocent hostages to their families.”
While some stars have been vocal and taken sides in the war, others are being called out for their silence. Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Drake have been targeted by social media users for not speaking out about the deadly conflict.
With inputs from agencies
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
