Gigi Hadid with her daughter Khai, whose face she never intentionally shows on social media (Image: Instagram/@gigihadid)
As a new mother, American model Gigi Hadid’s has appealed to the public and the press to blur the face of baby Khai, her daughter with British singer Zayn Malik, when they publish photos.
Hadid aired her request via a lengthy open letter posted on her Twitter account and Instagram Stories last Tuesday, July 6.
“As our baby grows up we have to realize that we can’t protect her from everything the way we wanted to and could when she was smaller,” the mother said.
Hadid noted that her child “loves seeing the world,” noting that “although she gets a lot of that out near the farm, she also gets to experience other places — a true blessing.”
The model noted that Khai has started to “want her sun shade lifted up” when they travel, but “she doesn’t understand why she’s covered in the city, or what I’ve wanted to protect her from.”
“I also want her to see the most amazing city in the world [plus] the beautiful and diverse people that walk down the streets of NYC [New York City]… that is, without the stress of the media circus that comes with parents who are public figures,” Hadid stressed.
https://twitter.com/GiGiHadid/status/1412218548592726017
“I know the laws change State to State, and I’ve seen some paparazzi photos of kids of NYC with their faces blurred — but from asking around, I believe that comes down to the integrity of the photographer, publications, or fans sharing the images,” Hadid said.
“I write this all to say: to the Paparazzi, press, and beloved fan accounts, you know we have never intentionally shared our daughter’s face on social media. Our wish is that she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age,” the mother explained.
Hadid noted that she wishes this so Khai “can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen.”
“It would mean the world to us, as we take our daughter to see and explore NYC and the world, if you would PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE blur her face out of the images, if and when she is caught on camera. I know it’s an extra effort — but as a new mom, I just want the best for my baby, as all parents do,” Hadid said.
The model emphasized that she hopes her request can “continue the conversation to protect minors in the media, even if they come from a public family.”
Hadid also expressed her gratitude to the paparazzi who respected her request to keep a distance from her as she walked with Khai on a stroller in their first trip to New York City.
“For a child, I can imagine that close or dramatic paparazzi frenzies must be overwhelming and disorienting… it still is as an adult that understands and deals with it often,” Hadid shared.
Khai is Hadid’s first and only child with Malik. She was born in September last year, around three months after Hadid confirmed rumors that she was indeed pregnant with Malik’s child. /ra
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