“I want to state unequivocally that I have never had any affiliation with that disgusting human being,” the model wrote of Epstein on social media
Credit: Kevin Mazur/MG22/Getty;Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Gigi Hadid addressed her and her sister Bella Hadid’s mention in the Epstein files after they were named in a 2015 email exchange between the late financier and an anonymous individual
- “To be named in those files, I think I was 20-21 at the time he would have written that email — is disturbing,” Gigi wrote on social media
- The model also responded to speculation in the email exchange that her and Bella’s success came from their influential parents
Gigi Hadid is speaking out about her and her sister Bella Hadid's mention in the Epstein files.
In a 2015 email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and a redacted individual — released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and reviewed by PEOPLE — an anonymous person asked the late financier how Gigi, 30, and Bella, 29, came to “become models and make so much money.”
After Epstein replied, “You know,” the individual suggested that their father had “paid the agency.”
“No,” Epstein said in response, later clarifying, “Because they follow directions, it’s that simple.”
Credit: Kevin Mazur/MG22/Getty
Following the release of the email, a social media user commented underneath one of Gigi’s Instagram carousels on March 29, admitting that she “had to unfollow” the model due to her silence about being mentioned in the files.
Dozens of women came forward to accuse Epstein of sexual abuse between 2008 and 2019.
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested and charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. Just weeks later, on Aug. 10, the disgraced financier and registered sex offender died by suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
In a since-deleted reply to the comment on her Instagram carousel, Gigi explained why she didn’t initially comment on her inclusion in the Epstein files.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty
“Horrible to read someone you’ve never met speak about you that way. Especially in this context,” she wrote, according to E! News and InStyle. “I didn’t comment bc I don’t want to take away from the stories of real victims of his; but your comment made me realize maybe it's not clear—and it’s important to let you know.”
“To be named in those files, I think I was 20-21 at the time he would have written that email — is disturbing,” she continued. “And I want to state unequivocally that I have never had any affiliation with that disgusting human being.”
Acknowledging that she did grow up “privileged,” Gigi went on to say that her parents, Mohamed Hadid and Yolanda Hadid, “protected me and taught me the value of hard work.”
She also emphasized that, after being signed by a modeling agency in 2012, she has “worked hard for every moment since."
PEOPLE reached out to representatives for Gigi Hadid for comment.
Read the full article here
