If you aren't familiar with Gigi Hadid, she is a popular American fashion model. Last February, Gigi was recorded by her sister, Bella Hadid, on Snapchat imitating a cookie that was shaped like Buddha. Personally, after viewing the Snapchat post for myself, I do not believe Gigi was cruelly making fun of Asians. To me, it seemed like their was no thought behind what she did. It was not malicious, yet a simple misunderstanding. I honestly think it was one of those situations where one carelessly acted before thinking, which we've all been guilty of at some point.
People in China did not take this lightly. Gigi Hadid did not publicly apologize until 6 months after the incident, which is disappointing on Gigi's part! People are still extremely outraged. Especially because Gigi and Bella are going to Shanghai, China for the next Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Although China is very important to the Hadid sisters due to all of the modeling opportunities and potential fans there, China has made it evident through Twitter, Instagram, Weibo and other social media platforms that they are not welcomed in China after Gigi mocked there entire race for their own humor. @wudadada2 wrote "The Chinese will never forgive you for coming to China to earn money by posting an apology on China's social software Weibo. Ever, ever!" Her apology would have been more sincere if she would have done it right away, not 6 months later when she's about to go back to China!
Another important thing to point out is that her apology was posted on Weibo, which is like the Chinese version of Twitter. Weibo is a mircoblogging platform that many media users use in China. People questioned why she didn't post her apology on American platforms as well. A huge amount of users on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were left out of this apology. Chinese social media user Chloe Jiang stated "So let's make it clear, Gigi "apologized" at Weibo. Did any one out of China knows? #gigiisoverparty #gigiracist #gigihadid" Did she not want other countries knowing she apologized? Also, she didn't just offend Chinese people, she offended the entire Asian race! There are tons of ethnic groups in Asia! Why only reach out to Chinese people Gigi?!
One of the most popular digital news platform, Jing Daily, covered this story about 3 weeks ago. The "racist" video is trending in China once again. The author of this article, Angelina Xu, stated "One user said, “China does not welcome her,” and followed that up with angry-faced emojis. There are no reports of either sister releasing statements or apologizing after the incident." I could not find any other news articles in the Chinese media after Gigi Hadid's apology. I assume it was rejected. (Comment from Weibo: “I think it’s a PR hazard to have Bella and Gigi Hadid on the fashion show in China.”)
In today's society, we need to be extremely careful of our actions, what we say, and how we say things. It is so easy now a days to be recorded with just a click of a button. How we portray ourselves on the media shapes the way people view us. Especially regarding other countries, it is easy to accidentally insult someone when you are not familiar with that particular culture. It is really important to be mindful of this when posting on the media.