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Model Gigi Hadid is no pushover

MILAN — Oversized black sunglasses perched on her nose, the model Gigi Hadid made her way out of the MaxMara show on Thursday in Milan, pausing to smile for selfies with a few fans. As she moved through the paparazzi gaggle, a bearded man in a wide-brimmed hat and reflective sunglasses grabbed her waist from behind and lifted her into the air.

Model Gigi Hadid won praise for fending off a gadfly after a fashion show in Milan last week. Photo: REUTERS

Model Gigi Hadid won praise for fending off a gadfly after a fashion show in Milan last week. Photo: REUTERS

MILAN — Oversized black sunglasses perched on her nose, the model Gigi Hadid made her way out of the MaxMara show on Thursday in Milan, pausing to smile for selfies with a few fans. As she moved through the paparazzi gaggle, a bearded man in a wide-brimmed hat and reflective sunglasses grabbed her waist from behind and lifted her into the air.

After a few seconds of hovering in his grasp, during which her sister, Bella Hadid, tried to free her, Hadid delivered a sharp elbow jab to the man’s face, perhaps drawing on the pugilistic skills she picked up from several years of boxing.

The man ran away, down the Corso Venezia. Gigi Hadid tried to pursue him, only to be held back by a member of her team.

This scene was caught on video, and the man in question has identified himself to The Hollywood Reporter as Vitalii Sediuk. Sediuk, a former entertainment reporter on Ukrainian television who has transformed in recent years into a celebrity gadfly, responded to the episode on his Instagram account, writing: “While I consider Gigi Hadid beautiful, she and her friend Kendall Jenner have nothing to do with high fashion.” He added, “You can call it a manifest or a protest.”

Milan showgoers had their own opinions. “She was absolutely right to defend herself,” said Laura Brown, the new editor-in-chief of InStyle. “Increasingly, I feel there is less and less regard for personal space in the fashion world and a sense of ownership over models simply because they are in the public eye. She doesn’t just exist on Instagram. She’s a living, breathing human being.”

Luke Leitch, who writes for Vogue Runway, went further. “It was a form of assault disguised as comedy and obviously an unforgivable example of male aggression against a woman,” he said.

In 2014, Sediuk was detained by police officers after he tried to hug Brad Pitt’s legs and hips at a premiere for the Disney film Maleficent.

He also caused an uproar after attempting to stick his head under actress America Ferrera’s skirt at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and after leaping at Kim Kardashian as she entered a Balmain show at Paris Fashion Week later that year.

Sediuk seemed to have little regret after his uninvited and unwelcome grabbing of Hadid. He included hashtags on his Instagram posts to make the episode more discoverable. Asked about allegations that he had assaulted Hadid, he said, “Don’t be overdramatic.”

Online commenters called out several publications for their framing of the story. Responding to an online headline by the British tabloid The Sun that read, “Gigi Hadid aggressively lashes out and elbows fan in the face after her tries to pick her up”, Rachel McGrath, a reporter for the Huffington Post, posted on Twitter: “Alternative headline — GOOD FOR HER: Gigi Hadid Reacts In Totally Appropriate Way When Random Man Tries To Lift Her In The Street.”

Hadid agreed, quoting the posting and adding her own text: “THANK YOU Rachel. To unknown article writer: fan?!!! The ACTUAL fans that were there can tell you what happened. I’m a HUMAN BEING.”

In a follow-up Twitter post, Hadid wrote that she “had EVERY RIGHT to defend myself”.

“How dare that idiot thinks he has the right to man-handle a complete stranger,” she added. NEW YORK TIMES

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