Supermodel Bella Hadid apologizes for 'racist' photo
MANILA, Philippines — Model Bella Hadid has issued an apology and an explanation in English and Arabic for a recent photo deemed by many Internet users as “racist” and “offensive.”
In a series of Twitter posts, Bella said: “To begin, I would never want my posts or platform to be used for hate against anyone, especially those of my wn beautiful and powerful heritage.”
— Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) June 17, 2019
“I care so much about the Muslim and Arab side of my family, as well as my brothers and sisters throughout the world,” said the model, whose father is of Palestinian descent and whose mother is Dutch.
— Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) June 17, 2019
“This was an honest mistake on an early morning... never, ever would I intentionally try to offend anyone like that. I am so sorry,” she said in another post.
this was an honest mistake on an early morning... never, ever would I intentionally try to offend anyone like that. I am so sorry ..??
— Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) June 17, 2019
She apologized after receiving backlash for an Instagram story photo of her shoe stepping on a glass of an international airport. For some Internet users, the photo was disrespectful as it allegedly showed her seemingly stepping on three aircrafts bearing the flags of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
As reaction to the photo, the hashtag #BellaHadidisRacist has been trending on Twitter. Some Twitter users even urged the boycott of brands being endorsed by the model, while some wrote letters to the brands Bella is representing to request that they drop her as endorser.
Last year, Bella also received criticism for repeatedly using the “n-word” in her tweets.
And more for the people shocked ms unproblematic bella hadid would say the n word pic.twitter.com/XjUfU8S6QY
— ???? (@ZJM_Stan_98) April 15, 2018
In 2017, she posted a video of her sister, Gigi, narrowing her eyes to mimic a Buddha-shaped cookie, which many also believed to be offensive to China. According to reports like that of the BBC, the video was probably the reason why Gigi was not granted a Chinese visa to join the Victoria’s Secret fashion show in Shanghai.
Gigi Hadid branded ‘racist’ after image of her imitating Buddha is posted online https://t.co/TaOgMi4V6F
— Metro Entertainment (@Metro_Ents) February 7, 2017
