UPDATE (8:59 a.m. EST, 2/7/17): Friends and family in the form of mother Yolanda Foster and boyfriend Zayn Malik have taken to Twitter to defend the racist accusations being thrown at Gigi Hadid. While her mother took a more zen approach to defusing the situation, Zayn went for a more light-hearted, if not naughty, approach.
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Is Gigi Hadid a racist?
That’s what many people are wondering after a video emerged of the 21-year-old model at a birthday party, with Hadid presented with a cookie — depicting either a Sumo wrestler or possibly Buddha — and then closing her eyes into slits as she performs an apparent impression of the cookie face. Watch:
Was Gigi simply imitating a cookie or was she mocking Asians? Numerous folks throughout the Twitterverse think it’s the latter, and took to social media to blast the daughter of former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Yolanda Hadid. In fact, many reminded that the model was also accused of being racist back in 2015 when she posed for an Italian Vogue photoshoot wearing a large afro wig, which led her to be accused of “cultural appropriation.”
RELATED: Gigi Hadid Apologizes After Being Slammed For AMAs Melania Trump Impression
In addition, back in November she was likewise accused of being racist due to her impression of Melania Trump at the American Music Awards, and eventually tweeted an apology, claiming she had “no bad intent” offering an apology “to anyone that I offended.”
The response on Twitter over Hadid’s cookie impression, however, led many to accuse her of outright racism for “mocking Asian people” (Hadid has yet to respond to the controversy).
However, not everyone thought Hadid was being racist, with some in the Twitterverse coming forward to defend her and say there’s nothing to be offended at.
