Gigi Hadid is asking “paparazzi, press and fan accounts” to help protect her daughter’s privacy.
The 26-year-old model and her boyfriend Zayn Malik welcomed daughter Khai in September of last year. While Gigi has been sharing photos of their bundle of joy on social media, she’s been careful not reveal her daughter’s face by either keeping it covered, blurring it out, or covering it with stickers. And she hopes that other people will do the same when they do catch a glimpse of Khai’s face on camera.
The first-time mom went on Instagram Stories to address the press and fans on behalf of her daughter.
“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,” Gigi began.
Noting that her baby girl “loves to see the world,” Gigi explained that Khai has been lifting up the sun shade to her stroller recently – something that she’s used to when they’re at her mom’s Pennsylvania farm.
“She doesn’t understand why she’s covered in the city, or what I’ve wanted to protect her from,” Gigi continued. “I also want her to see the most amazing city in the world + the beautiful and diverse people that walk down the streets of NYC… that is, without the stress of the media circus that comes with parents who are public figures.”
She also wrote that not sharing their daughter’s face publicly was intentional.
“Our wish is that she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age, and that she can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen,” Gigi went on. “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… and I hope this can continue the conversation to protect minors in the media, even if they come from a public family.”
Thanking the “respectful” paparazzi who have kept their distance when she asked them to, Gigi went on to share her own experience with a paparazzi frenzy and how it could possibly affect her daughter.
“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,” she shared.
She concluded her message by sharing her appreciation of those who took the time to read her letter and hopes that people will understand where she’s coming from.
