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Here are some photos of Gigi Hadid in Milan over the weekend, promoting her capsule collection with Tommy Hilfiger. As we discussed last week, Gigi was in Milan for their fashion week, and she had a pretty full schedule of runway work and appearances. When she was leaving one of the shows, she was assaulted by serial abuser Vitalii Sediuk, a ?prank journalist? who gets off on assaulting celebrity men and women, mostly women. Here?s the footage of Sediuk assaulting Gigi again:
It took hours for media outlets to realize that this was Sediuk, and the first outlets reporting on the altercation made it seem like Gigi had done something wrong, when clearly she was defending herself while being physically assaulted. Well, Lena Dunham?s latest Lenny letter includes a defense of Gigi?s actions, plus Gigi wrote this about what happened:
I remember taking the time, as it all felt slo-mo, to look at him, a stranger, and my first reaction was: ?Get me out of this situation.? I played volleyball, and my coaches talked about muscle memory. I started boxing two years ago and I always remembered that. Since then, I hadn?t been in a situation that forced me to fight back, but it just came out when he grabbed me ? it wasn?t a choice. I do have that fighter in me.
Honestly, I felt I was in danger, and I had every right to react the way I did. If anything, I want girls to see the video and know that they have the right to fight back, too, if put in a similar situation. Practicing self-defense is important so that when you?re in the moment, reacting from muscle memory comes more naturally to you than freezing up. Confidence in your own ability to defend yourself comes with educating yourself about it, and is a massive advantage when in an unsafe situation.
The first article that was posted about the incident was headlined: ?Not model behavior. Gigi aggressively lashes out and elbows fan in the face after he tries to pick her up. The supermodel angrily hit an unknown man before running to her car.? That?s when I really got pissed. First of all, it was a woman who wrote the story with that headline. What would you tell your daughter to do? If my behavior isn?t model behavior, then what is? What would you have told your daughter to do in that situation?
When my mom first saw what had happened, she texted me the picture of me elbowing the guy and (among other messages of support) said, ?Good girl.? My mom has taught me the power of my instincts since I was a kid. She?d always be like, ?OK. Pay attention to the people who make you feel uncomfortable. I want you to tap into that and be aware of it.? I continue to use that intuition with the fashion industry and the people who I have to be around. It usually guides me pretty well. I think it guided me in this situation, too.
It sounds clich to say it, but in the moment, it wasn?t heroic to me. It was just what I had to do. It?s very touching to me that people see it that way. I know people are put in much worse situations every day and don?t have the cameras around that provoke social-media support. I just want to use what happened to me to show that it?s everyone?s right, and it can be empowering, to be able to defend yourself.
[From Lenny]
I agree with Gigi?s mom, because my first reaction upon seeing Gigi elbow her assailant was ?good girl? and ?right on.? No one, no man and no woman has the right to put their hands on you. No one has the right to assault you in the name of a ?prank? or a ?protest.? And it?s great that Gigi is encouraging young women to care about self-defense and standing up for themselves in all situations. Well done, Gigi.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
More Photos Here
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