Gigi Hadid Responds to the Haters: ‘I Love That I Can Be Sexy. I Am Proud of It.’

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Gigi Hadid walking in the spring 2016 Versace show at Milan Fashion Week. (Photo: Instagram)

Gigi Hadid might not be the typical model, but that hasn’t stopped the 20-year-old from ruling the runway this fashion week. Hadid has been breaking the waif-like model mold with her athletic and curvy figure since she made her runway debut during the fall 2014 season, but like any young woman in the spotlight, she falls victim to negative comments, especially on social media. On Monday morning Hadid took to Instagram to post a message to all of those that feel like they have something to say about her body.

“I represent a body image that wasn’t accepted in high-fashion before,” she wrote. “I’m very lucky to be supported by the designers, stylists, and editors that I am: ones that know this is fashion, it’s art; it can never stay the same.” Hadid explains that she had let the negativity get to her over the past month and it was time to think about she was going to do, and what her message would be. It turns out, her message is one of confidence and empowerment. “Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m fitting into sample sizes,” she wrote. “Your mean comments don’t make me want to change my body, they don’t make me want to say not to the designers that ask me to be in their shows, and they definitely don’t change the designers opinions of me.”

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The message posted to Gigi Hadid’s Instagram account ahead of the beginning of Paris Fashion Week. (Photo: Instagram)

This isn’t the first time that Hadid has talked about her struggles with her body in the modeling industry. In an recent interview with the Daily Mail, she opened up about finding a modeling agency in New York City, saying: “When I first went to visit different agencies in New York, a lot of them were like, ‘You have to lose a lot of weight.’” Hadid recognized that her athletic build wasn’t the typical ideal in the industry, but she didn’t give up. Since she signed on with IMG in 2011, Hadid has scored countless magazine covers, fronted major ad campaigns, and has walked runways for designers in New York, Milan, and Paris.

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Hadid walking the spring 2016 Tommy Hilfiger show in New York City. (Photo: Instagram)

Hadid’s Instagram post already has close over 100,000 likes and over 4,000 comments, all of them in praise of her words and encouraging her to keep being herself. “If I didn’t have the body I do, I wouldn’t have the career I do,” Hadid wrote. “I love that I can be sexy. I am proud of it.”

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