Gigi Hadid Schools Body Shamers In Epic Series Of Tweets

Want to comment on a model’s body weight? Gigi Hadid explains why you should just not

Why is it that society seems to have different rules about models than other people when it comes to making comments about bodies? Bodies — and why they look the way they do — are nobody’s business but the people who live in them. But all bets are off when it comes to models; so many people have no problems critiquing them for being too big, too thin, too short, etc.

Gigi Hadid is fully over it. In a series of tweets, she took on the idea that models are subject to that kind of invasive scrutiny, while revealing the reason she’s had some fluctuations in her appearance that strangers felt entitled to point out.

Hashimoto disease is a condition that causes the thyroid to underperform, which can slow down all kinds of body functions. It’s terrible that Hadid has had to deal with that throughout her career, but even worse that she’s been so judged for changes in her body that were due to an illness and outside of her control to begin with.

Also, haters need to back right up, because Hadid’s appearance hasn’t even changed that much. Considering this a fluctuation in her weight severe enough to comment on is ridiculous. Here she is in 2014:

And here she is now:

Hadid went on to explain how the demands of her modeling career weren’t to blame for her changing appearance, as some speculated. She also admitted she’s still not perfectly happy with her body, but that she’s healthier now, and that should be all that matters.

Hadid is (rightfully) tired of having to justify why she looks the way she does, and that’s so understandable. She’s a gorgeous, successful, smart woman with a rocking career. We shouldn’t be so focused on her body anyway. She knows how to care for herself, and that’s what she’s doing, and anyone trying to police that needs to back right up.

Hadid ended her thread with a plea to those who read her tweets to practice more empathy, and to stop judging anyone (models or otherwise) without knowing the full story.

While Hadid has a disease that’s at least partially to blame for changes in her appearance, the truth is that all humans go through weight fluctuations sometimes. It’s not something you would point out to a stranger face-to-face, because that’s fucking rude. So why would anyone think it’s OK to do on the internet? That kind of body shaming behavior isn’t ever OK, period.

Hadid got some support from fellow celebs who have probably felt exactly like she does at some point.

The takeaway here is pretty simple: No one owes anyone an explanation about why their body is the way it is, and if you have something to say about it, just don’t. You don’t know the full story, so leave people be.