Adidas has triggered a global boycott campaign after featuring a former Israeli soldier as a model in an advertisement for disabled customers. The backlash has spilled over to a collaboration collection with BLACKPINK's Jennie, released at almost the same time, with some fans now demanding that she terminate her contract.
According to British outlet Fashion Times and other foreign media on the 8th, Adidas faced fierce criticism after featuring Shavre Biton, a former Israeli soldier who lost his left leg, as the model for its "single shoe" service advertisement.
The service is a corporate social responsibility program that allows customers with limb disabilities to purchase a single shoe at 50% of the regular price. Adidas introduced it in 23 European countries earlier this year, and in Israel it ran a separate promotion featuring 11 athletes with disabilities, including Biton.
Biton lost his left leg after being wounded in combat near the Gaza Strip in May 2021. Civic groups criticized the decision to use a former Israeli soldier as the model for an amputee campaign while the reconstruction crisis in Gaza continues, calling it a dismissal of Palestinian victims.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 5,000 people in Gaza have undergone traumatic limb amputations since October 2023, and more than 22,000 have suffered severe limb injuries. Of the 2,277 amputation patients treated between September 2024 and May 2026, 18% were children.
Palestinian rights group Eye on Palestine said the campaign "completely ignores the tragedy of Palestinian victims who have lost limbs in the ongoing invasion." The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel said it "allows Israel to normalize the crimes it commits against Palestinians."
Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who has spoken out repeatedly on the Palestinian issue, also called for a boycott of Adidas, and the hashtag #boycottadidas spread rapidly on social media. A promotional video posted by Biton was deleted as the controversy grew.
Adidas issued a formal apology on social media, saying it had no intention of causing offense and apologizing to those who had been hurt. The company drew criticism in 2024 for featuring Palestinian American model Bella Hadid in an advertisement, which it later replaced after complaints from Israel — leading some to describe the latest episode as a repeated misstep.
The problem is that the fallout reached the Jennie collection, released before the uproar had subsided. Jennie of BLACKPINK unveiled "adidas Originals by Jennie" on the 1st, making her debut as a co-designer. The collection is the result of a year of work and features items such as the ballet-inspired Superstar SQ Ballet. Jennie described it as a dream project.
But because the launch coincided with the online surge of the Adidas boycott, attention has shifted from the products themselves to Jennie's relationship with the brand. Calls among fans for her to end the contract are growing, and although her collection and the Biton advertisement are separate matters, pressure for an explanation and an apology is mounting.
