Goodbye Body-Shamers
In Sept. 2015, shortly before Paris Fashion Week, Gigi took to Instagram to defend herself after being body-shamed online. "No, I don't have the same body type as other models in shows. No, I don't think I'm the best at any given shows. Yes, I want to have a unique walk but I also know I have to improve. No, I'm not the first or the last model of my type in this industry," Hadid wrote. "You can make up all the reasons you think I am where I am, but really, I'm a hard worker that's confident in myself, one that came at a time where the fashion industry was ready for a change."
Defending Zayn
When Jake Paul tweeted about an alleged encounter with Zayn in Las Vegas, Gigi took to Twitter to defend her beau. "Lol cause he doesn't care to hang w you and your embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies ..? Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie," the supermodel tweeted. "Unbothered by your irrelevant ugly ass. Go to bed." Jake has since deleted his tweet about Zayn.
Fighting Off Strangers
Back in Sept. 2016, Gigi was leaving MaxMara's fashion show in Milan with sister Bella when she was lifted in the air by a man, later identified as Vitalii Sediuk, who grabbed her from behind. After being grabbed, Gigi elbowed the man, who released her and ran away. Video footage of the incident showed Hadid briefly following after the man, before asking security to find him. She later took to Twitter to right that she "had EVERY RIGHT to defend myself," adding, "How dare that idiot thinks he has the right to man-handle a complete stranger. He ran quick tho."
Fake Romance? Nope!
Back in 2018, Gigi clapped back at haters who criticized her then-relationship with Zayn Malik, calling it "fake." After being tagged in a critical post about the romance, Gigi decided to leave a comment, writing, "Seems like u guys tag me in a new post every day … pls stop.. it's just negative, I really have no hard feelings towards you I just know what a beautiful world there is to go out and live in instead of trying to dissect a relationship between two people that you don't even know and that you do not see 99% of."
A Message to Her Haters
In Feb. 2018, Gigi returned to social media to speak her mind after once again being criticized over weight. "For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/ Hashimoto's disease; those of u who called me 'too big for the industry' were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that," Gigi wrote.
Famous Family
Prior to becoming a supermodel, Gigi was known for being the daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Yolanda Hadid. In early 2019, Gigi expressed her frustration over people crediting her family connections for her success in the entertainment industry.
"I mean, I understand it. I come from privilege, and I recognize my privilege," she told Elle. "But because my mom was on a TV show, people think that my whole childhood was fame. It absolutely was not. My mom was a model. She moved to the States when she was 16 to send money back to her family in Holland. My dad was a refugee and worked his way up in every way. I work hard to honor my parents."
Saving the Day
Gigi was not about to let a prankster ruin the day at Chanel's Paris Fashion Week show, blocking the YouTuber Marie Benoliel, a.k.a. Marie S'Infiltre, from getting by after crashing the runway.