Gigi Hadid Reveals She Nearly Quit Modelling

Gigi Hadid opens up about how she almost quit modelling after she was bullied online. Photo: Getty Images

Gigi Hadid has revealed that she came close to quitting modelling altogether after she was recently body-shamed following a number of appearances during fashion month.

The 20-year-old stunner admitted the recent backlash she faced made her question her job.

"I am human and try not to read it all the time - but it does get to me, I think that when you go through something like that, and you're really almost letting it affect what you think of yourself - it was getting to a place where I was almost like, 'Should I be here?'"

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Gigi Hadid looked incredible as she walked the runway for Versace, however sadly online bullies labelled her 'too fat' for the catwalk. Photo: Getty Images

"And I was like, 'This isn't okay. I shouldn't be questioning doing my job because people are being mean on the Internet.

The model, who penned a powerful essay on the hurtful body-shaming that she faced, says she came to the realisation that she has just as much a right to have a voice on social media as anybody else, and that she is in a powerful position to speak out in defence of others who might not be able to.

"So I just felt like I wasn't scared to have a voice. Some people might think that it was maybe aggressive, but I just think that I was doing it because I want to stand up for myself. I think that I have the right to have a say because we all do on social media."

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Gigi says she has been touched by the positive response she has received since standing up to the haters.

"At first, it was for me to get it off my chest for myself, but I think that led to a lot of people realising that you don't have to be scared of the industry that you work for..." she said during the Global Lyme Alliance Gala in New York.

"That's what brought [me] to tears, when I realised that it's not only you know, people being called not good enough for the runway, but it's people being called too fat, people being called anorexic when they're not, that's just how they were born, a skinny body type."

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