‘I had friends that completely dropped me’: Bella Hadid explains that she has lost modelling jobs and friends due to her anti-Israel stance
- The model, 25, is the daughter of Dutch supermodel and former reality star Yolanda Hadid, and Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid
- She has previously spoken openly about her stance on Israel, admitting her views have led to both friends and companies shunning her
Bella Hadid has opened up about the backlash she has received on her anti-Israel stance – admitting she has been dropped by friends and lost modelling jobs due to her views.
The model, 25, is the daughter of Dutch supermodel and former reality star Yolanda Hadid, and Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid.
She has criticized Israel in the past due to the conflict between the Jewish state and Palestine, talking openly on social media about the crisis.
‘I had friends that completely dropped me: Bella Hadid, 25, has claimed that she has lost modelling jobs and friends due to her anti-Israel stance
She’s walked the runway for high-end brands such as Balmain, Tom Ford, Givenchy, Chanel and Victoria’s Secret – but explains that she has been declined jobs due to her political stance.
Speaking to Libyan-American journalist Noor Tagouri on his podcast, the model explained: ‘There have been so many brands that have stopped working with me. A lot of friends have also turned their backs on me.
‘I had friends that completely dropped me, like even friends that I had been having dinner with on Friday nights, for seven years, now just won’t let me into their house.’
Bella was born in Washington, D.C., where she spent the first four years of her life growing up around relatives from her Palestinian side.
But after her parents split when Bella was four, she and her siblings – Gigi and Anwar – relocated to Santa Barbara, California, with their mother.
What she does best: She’s walked the runway for high-end brands such as Balmain, Tom Ford, Givenchy, Chanel and Victoria’s Secret – but explains that she has been declined jobs due to her political stance
Family: The model is the daughter of Dutch supermodel and former reality star Yolanda Hadid, and Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid (pictured with her mum Yolanda and siblings)
It comes after she recently revealed her ‘sadness’ at being denied the opportunity to grow up in ‘Muslim culture’ with her Palestinian father during an interview with GQ.
She recalled being ‘extracted’ from that side of her family when her mother moved her to California following her parents’ divorce, explaining that she yearned for a chance to explore that side of her history after moving to the West coast.
She said she would have loved to have studied and practiced the religion as a child, but ‘wasn’t given that’ opportunity.
Bella added that was often the only Arab girl in her class at school, which resulted in her being regularly subjected to racist bullying and left her feeling ‘sad and lonely.’
Background: It comes after the half-Palestinian star explained to GQ that she yearned for a chance to explore that side of her history after moving to the West coast (Pictured with her dad in 2017)
Early days: Bella, seen with sister Gigi as a child, was born in Washington, D.C., where she spent the first four years of her life growing up around relatives from her Palestinian side
Relocation: But after her parents split when Bella was four, she and her siblings – Gigi and Anwar – relocated to California, with their mother (Pictured with Gigi and Yolanda in 2018)
‘I was with my Palestinian side [of the family in D.C.]’, she said. ‘And I got extracted when we moved to California.
‘I would have loved to grow up and be with my dad every day and studying and really being able to practice, just in general being able to live in a Muslim culture, but I wasn’t given that.’
She added of her upbringing in Santa Barbara, where she faced ‘racist name-calling:’ ‘For so long I was missing that part of me, and it made me really, really sad and lonely.’
Bella is set to make her acting debut in the Hulu series, Ramy, which is about ‘a first-generation American Muslim who is on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood.’
Bella revealed that the role reignited her desire to embrace her heritage, which she was denied following her parents’ divorce.
She explained that while she was filming the series, she was actually brought to tears when the crew surprised her with a Free Palestine T-shirt.
‘I couldn’t handle my emotions,’ she added. ‘Growing up and being Arab, it was the first time that I’d ever been with like-minded people. I was able to see myself.’
Missing out: Bella (pictured earlier this month) said she would have loved to have studied and practiced the religion as a child, but ‘wasn’t given that’ opportunity
Bullying: Bella added that was often the only Arab girl in her class, which resulted in her being subjected to racist bullying and left her feeling ‘sad and lonely.’ She is seen as a teen with her sister
Protest: Back in May 2021, Bella attended a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City, and she has since been very vocal about supporting the country amid its war with Israel
She added that her friendship with the show’s star Ramy Youssef helped her to feel more comfortable exploring her faith.
Back in May 2021, Bella attended a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City, and she has since been very vocal about supporting the country amid its war with Israel.
‘The way my heart feels… To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving, kind, and generous Palestinians all in one place… It feels whole,’ she wrote on Instagram after the rally. ‘We are a rare breed!’
‘The way my heart feels… To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving, kind, and generous Palestinians all in one place… It feels whole,’ she wrote on Instagram after the rally. ‘We are a rare breed!’
She also shared a snap of herself crying on social media, while writing that she felt a ‘deep sense of pain’ for the Palestinian people following the outbreak of fighting in Gaza last year.
‘You cannot allow yourself to be desensitized to watching human life being taken,’ she wrote.
‘Palestinian lives are the lives that will help change the world. And they are being taken from us by the second.’
She added in another post that ‘anti-semitism is NOT okay’ and ‘Jewish people are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli army or the government policies of Israel.’
The model has also opened up about her Palestinian heritage and longstanding support for demonstrators, sharing a picture of herself at a pro-Palestine protest four earlier.
‘It has always been #freepalestine. ALWAYS. I have a lot to say about this but for now, please read and educate yourself,’ she captioned it.
‘This is not about religion. This is not about spewing hate on one or the other. This is about Israeli colonization, ethnic cleansing, military occupation and apartheid over the Palestinian people that has been going on for YEARS!’
Emotional: She also shared a snap of herself crying on social media, while writing that she felt a ‘deep sense of pain’ for the Palestinian people following the outbreak of fighting in Gaza last year
Speaking out: The model has also opened up about her Palestinian heritage and longstanding support for demonstrators, sharing a picture of herself at a pro-Palestine protest four earlier
‘I love my family, I love my Heritage, I love Palestine,’ she also wrote alongside a photo of her grandparents’ wedding in Palestine in 1941
She explained that her grandparents had ‘eight beautiful babies’ together, including her aunts, uncles, and her ‘baba’ AKA her dad, Mohammed, who is seen bottom right in a white shirt
Earlier this year, Bella admitted that she regretted undergoing a nose job at the age of 14. She is seen left before the procedure in 2010 and right after the procedure in 2022
‘I love my family, I love my Heritage, I love Palestine,’ she also wrote alongside a photo of her grandparents’ wedding in Palestine in 1941.
Earlier this year, Bella admitted that she regretted undergoing a nose job at the age of 14, telling Vogue: ‘I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it.’
She told Vogue: ‘I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it’
Bella went on to note that the criticism of her looks made her feel as though she wasn’t worthy of being deemed a supermodel.
She explained: ‘I’ve had this impostor syndrome where people made me feel like I didn’t deserve any of this.
‘People always have something to say, but what I have to say is, I’ve always been misunderstood in my industry and by the people around me.’
Growing up with a supermodel for an elder sister didn’t help matters either, with Bella noting she had spent her life comparing herself to Gigi, now 26.
‘I was the uglier sister. I was the brunette. I wasn’t as cool as Gigi, not as outgoing,’ she recalled.
‘That’s really what people said about me. And unfortunately when you get told things so many times, you do just believe it.
‘I always ask myself, how did a girl with incredible insecurities, anxiety, depression, body-image issues, eating issues, who hates to be touched, who has intense social anxiety – what was I doing getting into this business? But over the years I became a good actress.
‘I put on a very smiley face, or a very strong face. I always felt like I had something to prove,’ Bella (pictured left in 2014 and right in 2018) said
‘I put on a very smiley face, or a very strong face. I always felt like I had something to prove.
‘People can say anything about how I look, about how I talk, about how I act. But in seven years I never missed a job, canceled a job, was late to a job. No one can ever say that I don’t work my a*s off.’
As well as elder sister Gigi, Bella grew up alongside model brother Anwar, 22,on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, before the family moved to Beverly Hills.
Bella suffered with mental health issues during her childhood, revealing she developed anorexia during high school.
Bella had been prescribed extended-release Adderall for her inattention, as doctors believed she had suffered with ADHD, but Bella claimed the appetite-suppressant effect of the medication kickstarted an eating disorder.
While Bella said she now has a healthy relationship with food, she admitted that she still struggles with dysmorphic feelings, telling Vogue: ‘I can barely look in the mirror to this day because of that period in my life.’
The Hadid sisters have long had their diets scrutinized in public, with old episodes of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills showing the pair willing to do what it took to become models, even if it meant restrictive diets.
Bella added that the criticism of her looks made her feel as though she wasn’t worthy of being a supermodel. She explained: ‘People made me feel like I didn’t deserve any of this’
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