Photos from the campaign show her, along with soccer player Jules Koundé and ASAP Nast, holding flowers in an apparent reference to the bouquets traditionally given to Olympic medal winners. The images of Hadid in the SL72 do not make any allusion to the Munich Olympics, and the shoe’s Olympic history is usually not a part of Adidas’ marketing materials.
When criticism mounted online, Adidas issued an apology, saying in a statement that any connection between the SL72 campaign with Hadid and “tragic historical events” were “completely unintentional.” The brand announced in the same statement that it would be revising the campaign.
But Gulden, responding to questions from the media on Adidas’ Q2 2024 earnings call, confirmed the brand has an ongoing relationship with Hadid.
“She’s still a friend of the brand,” Gulden said, “and yes, we pay her according to her contract.”
After Adidas apologized and pulled the campaign, reports emerged in publications like Us Weekly and TMZ that Hadid was considering legal action against the German brand. Gulden claimed on the earnings call that he had no knowledge of a potential lawsuit from the model.
“We have not heard anything that she’s going to sue us,” Gulden said. “So I don’t know where that rumor started.”
Hadid was quiet on the issue until Monday, when she posted a long statement to Instagram addressing her appearance in the Adidas ad.
“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,” Hadid wrote. “I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind.”
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