You may not have heard of supermodel Gigi Hadid, and you may not care about her career or her 23 million Instagram followers.
But after she was attacked on the streets of Milan yesterday, you should probably care about her response.
As Gigi was leaving the Max Mara runway show, a man grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her into the air. The model – who is obviously at her peak fitness – reacted with impressive super speed by throwing an elbow straight to her attacker’s face, fending him off before he ran down the street.
https://twitter.com/HardysCloset/status/778960846219255808
Fired up, the model chased him yelling: “Who the fuck are you, you piece of shit?”
The attack was a shameless violation of Gigi’s personal space, which could very easily have resulted in physical or emotional trauma to the model, who later tweeted about the incident.
Thanked my boxing coach today.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) September 22, 2016
GIRLS, prepare yourselves so that, if you ever feel in danger, MUSCLE MEMORY can fight back for you. Thank you all so much for ur support.❤️
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) September 22, 2016
Gigi’s refusal to be vulnerable sends a positive message of empowerment. It is refreshing to see a supermodel unapologetically show young people everywhere that their personal safety can be – to some extent – within your own power.
Whatever you think about Hadid’s success, she has undoubtedly put her status to good use on this occasion.
Gigi has hit back at the press after certain publications condemned her for simply defending herself, thanking her supporters and fans for having her back.
Alternative headline – GOOD FOR HER: Gigi Hadid Reacts In Totally Appropriate Way When Random Man Tries To Lift Her In The Street pic.twitter.com/WTsbHcNt43
— Rachel McGrath (@RachelMcGrath) September 22, 2016
THANK YOU Rachel.
To unknown article writer: fan?!!! The ACTUAL fans that were there can tell you what happened. I’m a HUMAN BEING — https://t.co/G7Pbp0G8yP— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) September 22, 2016
and had EVERY RIGHT to defend myself. How dare that idiot thinks he has the right to man-handle a complete stranger. He ran quick tho ????
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) September 22, 2016
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Vitalii Sediuk has accepted responsibility for the attack and explained his motives for violating the 21-year-old woman with the limpest excuse I’ve ever heard for assault – which is exactly what this ‘prank’ was.
This is not the first time Sediuk – a red carpet reporter who is, IMHO, unhinged – has attacked a member of the elite. Sediuk once crawled under actor America Ferrera’s skirt while she was walking the red carpet.
His other victims include Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour, and Brad Pitt.
Ukraine-born Sediuk said:
While I consider Gigi Hadid beautiful, she and her friend Kendall Jenner have nothing to do with high fashion. By doing this, I encourage the fashion industry to put true talents on the runway and Vogue covers instead of well-connected cute girls from Instagram.
You can call it a manifest or a protest.
Well, the judiciary system would call it assault and we hope Sediuk is stable enough to acknowledge what he did as downright criminal.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.