Gigi Hadid Responds to Body-Shaming Critics Calling Her "Too Skinny" at NYFW
Gigi Hadid is defending her noticeable slimmed-down figure.
In the midst of New York Fashion Week, the supermodel—who showed off her catwalk prowess at Jeremy Scott and Bottega Veneta’s fall 2018 shows last week—took to Twitter on Sunday to educate body shamers about the health issue that has caused her to lose weight.
After she was met with much criticism for her lithe frame, Gigi shared a series of emotional tweets with her followers, explaining her Hashimoto disease diagnosis. “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,” the 22-year-old began.
“Over the last few years I’ve been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body’s ability to retain heat, etc … I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out,” she continued.
While the model says she is not happy with her current weight, her health has improved tremendously.
“Although stress & excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better," she added. "I may be 'too skinny' for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is."
Firing back against social media users who falsely speculated that drugs were to blame for the beauty’s new appearance, she wrote: "I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesn't suit ur 'beauty' expectation, shouldn't have to. Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because u don't understand the way my body has matured."
Hadid concluded her message by pleading with fans to “have more empathy.”
”Please, as social media users & human beings in general, learn to have more empathy for others and know that you never really know the whole story,” she said. “Use your energy to lift those that you admire rather than be cruel to those u don’t.”
This isn’t the first time the SI Swimsuit star has had to explain her fluctuating weight.
Back in September 2015, she took to Instagram to stand by her curvaceous figure, saying: "I'm human, and I'm not going to lie, I did let the negativity get to me a little. I represent a body image that wasn't accepted in high-fashion before...Yes, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm fitting into my sample sizes. Your mean comments don't make me want to change my body."
A year later, the noticeably thinner model first spoke out about the autoimmune disorder that prompted her to shed pounds. In December 2016, Hadid told People about the unwanted side effects of the illness, saying: “My metabolism actually changed like crazy this year. I have Hashimoto’s disease. It’s a thyroid disease."
“It’s now been two years since taking the medication for it, so for the [Victoria’s Secret] show I didn’t want to lose any more weight,” she continued. “I just want to have muscles in the right place, and if my butt can get a little perkier, then that’s good.”
Hats off to Gigi for always taking a stand against body-shaming.