People Are Really Confused About Gigi Hadid’s Ethnicity, So Let Us Clarify

After a video of Gigi Hadid surfaced on Monday appearing to show the model mocking Asian facial features, fans were upset — and also confused. Both Hadid and her boyfriend Zayn Malik are of mixed race, but this isn't the first time she's landed herself in hot water for being insensitive and not fully understanding of other cultures. Back in October, she misstated Malik's ethnicity as Middle Eastern. As Oprah says, "So what is the truth?" Gigi Hadid is half-Palestinian, something she's been open about on Instagram as well as in interviews.

"Before you go all 'cultural appropriation' in my comments, check out the last name," she captioned a photo of henna tattoos. "Hadid. Half Palestinian & proud of it." She also spoke to Gulf News back in October about visiting the Middle East. "I love it here and I love going to places that remind me of my dad’s side of the family," she explained. Gulf News reports that Hadid's father was born in Palestine and moved to America when he was fourteen. "I especially love it when you meet other Arabs," she continued. "There’s such a sense of family regardless of whether you are blood related or not anywhere in the world. When someone comes up to me and they tell me, ‘I’m Palestinian’ and we make a connection, it’s beautiful." In this same interview, Hadid falsely claimed that Zayn Malik was half Middle Eastern, which people on Twitter were quick to correct.

Malik is actually from Pakistan. While both South Asia and the Middle East are a part of the larger continent of Asia, the countries within range wildly in culture and identity. Regardless of where both Hadid and Malik are from, however, they (and everyone) should be treating countries and their cultures with respect — both on and off Snapchat.