Gigi Hadid told she’s ‘not welcome’ in China after ‘racist’ Buddha Instagram

Hadid was accused of “mocking Asians” in a video posted by her sister Bella
Criticised: Gigi Hadid in last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Emma Powell30 August 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Hadid, 22, announced her return to the annual catwalk – but she was met with resistance from critics who told her she is “not welcome”.

The model – who is dating Zayn Malik – announced the news with a black and white video of herself wearing lingerie and angel wings.

She captioned the clip: “Forever and ever and ever a dream come true to be asked back to the VS Show !!!

“Thank you my friends @ed_razek @10magazine @johndavidpfeiffer @monica.mitro for another unforgettable opportunity; every aspect makes me feel like a dreaming kid again.”

But critics were quick to remind her of a video posted by her sister Bella in which she was squinting her eyes as she held up a Buddha cookie and appeared to impersonate the face.

One user commented: “We like some people who respects us, not you. What you have done made us unhappy. And Chinese do not welcome you. So don’t come to China (sic).”

Another posted: “As a Chinese, we don't welcome racist to China.”

A third claimed they had reported her to the Chinese authorities, writing: “I have reported to the Chinese government, and I hope you can not come to China.”

Her comments were also littered with snake emojis while others branded her “shameful”.

Models Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Jasmine Tookes, and Stella Maxwell will return for this year’s extravaganza.

They will be joined by new recruits Frida Aasen, Victoria Lee, Vanessa Moody, Nadine Leopold, Bruna Lirio, Gizele Oliveira, Aiden Curtis and Alexina Graham.

Standard Online has contacted representatives for Hadid for comment.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will be broadcast on November 28.

Victoria's Secret 2016 Fashion Show - In pictures

1/47

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in