Back in February 2017, a video of Gigi Hadid imitating a Buddha cookie surfaced online, and—as you might expect—people weren't thrilled.
this is y'all woke palestine queen? Gigi out here mocking Asian people. i would say she's cancelled but she never started. rat @GiGiHadid pic.twitter.com/b6wj5k1sXEFebruary 5, 2017
At the time, Gigi's boyfriend Zayn defended her, tweeting:
trust me.. she likes asians ;) 👍🏽February 7, 2017
The controversy died down, but has resurfaced due to the upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (which Gigi has been cast in) taking place in China. Fans have been quick to voice their concern over Gigi attending, saying, as Buzzfeed (opens in new tab) reports, that she isn't welcome in China due to her alleged racism.
GigiHadid is Asian racist,Gigi will not be welcomed in China.Just get out of my country🐍🐍🐍 #GigiHadid #GigiIsOverParty #GigiGetOutOfChina pic.twitter.com/Lfri2pX4lzAugust 30, 2017
Ni hao, China! This year's #VSFashionShow is headed to Shanghai. Watch it Nov 28, 10/9C on @CBS. Learn more: https://t.co/AHWHWjKOCI pic.twitter.com/tgIVJs7LsrAugust 29, 2017
I am looking forward to watching this year's VSFashionshow!😊😊😊But Gigi Hadid is not welcomed to China for her rude behavior!😠😠😠 pic.twitter.com/RveLZdeey3August 30, 2017
Gigi has since disabled comments on the Instagram post announcing news of her casting due to being spammed with snake emojis and accusations of racism.
This isn't Gigi's first time dealing with this issue—she experienced some blowback after doing an impression (opens in new tab) of Melania Trump, and ended up writing an apology:
pic.twitter.com/6NuxjKx68oNovember 22, 2016
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