Bella Hadid has seemingly addressed Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic posts, noting on Instagram that it would be a “disservice” to herself and her loved ones if she did not “speak up.”
On Tuesday, the 26-year-old shared a statement to condemn antisemitism and the “things” that have been shared about it recently on “public platforms”.
While she didn’t mention West by name, her post comes after the rapper went to Twitter to claim that he could go “death con three on JEWISH PEOPLE”. He also alleged in the tweets, which have now been removed for violating Twitter rules, that he wasn’t “Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew”.
In her Instagram Story, Hadid said it’s been hard for her to celebrate her birthday over the “past two days” seemingly due to West’s slew of social media posts and that she won’t let any form of antisemitism slide, for the sake of herself and her community.
“To allow any form of antisemitism to slip by, as desensitized as the world has become, it would be a disservice to my friends, the families I have grown up with, the people I love and work with, myself, and even the Palestinian cause as a whole,” she wrote.
She then emphasised that her Palestinian community does not stand for “hatred or violence,” adding that anti-Semitic social media posts “will never be okay”.
“I will continue to be a voice for the innocently targeted no matter who you are or where you come from,” Hadid continued. “With that being said, this is NOT okay. Antisemitism, or targeting any innocent Jewish person, anywhere, will never be okay. I can’t stress how important it is for my following to hear this loud and clear.”
Hadid then acknowledged how “scary” it is to live in a place where “discrimination or death wishes” are part of everyday life and how concerning it is when people ignore something “horrendous” on social media.
“It is scary that most people would swipe past something so horrendous and unknowingly go on with their life, completely unaware of how it could affect another human being,” she wrote. “But there is a point where we all have to speak up. No matter what. If you feel something is wrong in your heart. Speak up.”
She then defended her loved ones, specifically people who are Jewish, who currently “feel targeted,” “uneasy,” and “confused.”
“Generational trauma of their ancestors being tortured and taken,” Hadid continued. “There is self-doubt. These are triggers. And I am here to say that if you see something, say something.”
The model directed a message to members of the Jewish community, writing: “To my Jewish loved ones, the Jewish communities worldwide, I am here to say that you belong, you are worthy and your right as a human being is to be ALIVE. Just the same as any other race, religio, shape or size. No one can choose where they come from, what is in their blood, or who they are,” she added. “And no one should be judged for the things they cannot control.”
She concluded her Instagram Story by once again telling her followers that if they see “ANYONE say something anti-semitic,” “call” that person “out” on it and make it known that “there is no room for that kind of behaviour”.
Hadid also emphasised the importance of bringing people together to stand up against hate: “We need to stand together always. The same way I expect hatred against ‘my’ people, ‘your’ people, or ‘their’ people to be denounced, I will time and time again denounce ALL anti-semitism worldwide.”
The supermodel wasn’t the first celebrity to address the recent slew of anti-Semitic social media posts. On Monday, Jamie Lee Curtis, who is of Hungarian Jewish descent on her father’s side, called West out on Twitter and slammed him for his tweets, noting that he shared them only a week after “the holiest day in Judaism,” Yom Kippur.
“Words matter,” the Everything Everywhere All at Once star continued. “A threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop.”
That same day, Curtis also appeared on Today and further explained her response to West’s posts.
“I burst into tears,” she explained. “What are you doing? I mean, it’s bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world, but on Twitter, on a portal, to pour that in as if Jewish people haven’t had it hard enough?”
