What the Hell Happened: Gigi Hadid Claps Back

It seems like every day we hear about another epic celebrity clapback. Whether Chrissy Teigen is owning a troll in her Instagram comments, an actor is calling out a news outlet for spreading false rumours, or two celebrities are feuding on Twitter, the internet keeps us well fed with the dramatic, pithy replies of the insulted ultra-famous. This week’s incident falls into the last category: the infamous inter-celebrity beef.

On Feb. 23, controversial YouTuber Jake Paul took a shot at former One Direction band member Zayn Malik. Paul wrote on Twitter that he “almost had to clap up zane from 1 direction because he is a little guy and has an attitude.” He continued, chiding Malik to “stop being angry cause u came home alone to ur big ass hotel room hahaha.”

At that point, the exchange may have simply seemed like a run of the mill celebrity mudsling. But then Malik’s on-again off-again girlfriend, supermodel Gigi Hadid, entered into the fray. Hadid deployed a brutal response, writing, “Lol cause he doesn’t care to hang w you and your embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies..? Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie. Unbothered by your irrelevant ugly ass. Go to bed …”

First of all, many were shocked to know that Malik and Hadid were, in fact, on again. The two young stars’ romantic journey has been nothing if not complicated since rumors first began swirling in late 2015. Hadid went on to co-star in Malik’s steamy music video for his debut single as a solo artist, “Pillow Talk,” and the two attended the 2016 Met Gala together dressed in matching robot-inspired attire. Their latest rekindling was confirmed on Valentine’s Day via Hadid’s secondary Instagram account, “Gi’sposables.” Littered among behind the scenes photos of Hadid’s supermodel friends backstage at a litany of fashion week events, fans of the two were treated to a blurry shot of the singer, squinting into the camera. Hadid playfully captioned the photo “HEY VALENTINE,” and added the description “Z on the Farm ♡ December 2019.” This post not only established that the two were together once more, but also made clear that this reconnection happened at least a few months prior.

While this may seem like a simple, brief tweet in defense of her man, there are several layers to Hadid’s online takedown. First and foremost, it is indicative of the divide between traditional celebrities and the new breed of the so-called “internet famous.” Long perceived as a less influential cohort, the latter has recently experienced more exposure and validation from magazines, television networks, and some award shows. However, there is still a sense of stratification, a schism between the glamorous models, singers, and actors of Hadid’s and Malik’s world, and the recent, boisterous fame of Paul and other online stars.

There is a sense of insecurity in the internet famous, the notion that even those who achieve unfathomable success, including millions of followers and massive incomes, do not have a “real job.” We have long since determined that actors and actresses, singers and fashion models, are all doing some sort of work, even if the pomp and circumstance can seem a bit frivolous to some. But to many, especially older audiences who grew up before the internet became the phenomenon it is today, it seems as if Paul and others like him are simply recording their daily lives and somehow getting paid to do it. Readers can clearly see Hadid playing into this notion as she refers to Paul and his “embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies.”

The idea of his “crew” is also an interesting one. Paul has famously enlisted a group of friends, all less famous than himself, to live with him, promote his merchandise, and generally participate in the shenanigans and hijinks that comprise the majority of his content. By calling his crew “embarrassing,” Hadid is perhaps alluding to Paul and his sidekicks. She is both slyly suggesting that he doesn’t have genuine friends, simply “groupies” attracted to the fame and exposure that he can provide, and highlighting their comparative lack of influence. This jab is especially compelling when one compares Paul’s followers to Hadid’s own friends, all of whom have similarly huge levels of fame, including Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner, and Gigi’s sister, Bella Hadid. Gigi herself has over 50 million followers on Instagram and Malik has over 30 million, while Paul comes in with a paltry 13 million.

In addition to the dig about those that Paul surrounds himself with, Hadid also responds to the seemingly absurd and largely baseless allegation that any anger on Malik’s part resulted from his “empty hotel room.” Beside the fact that there seems to be no evidence that any altercation resulted from some sort of loneliness on Malik’s part, this claim left Paul wide open to Hadid’s clapback. Here, she weaponizes her own status as a supermodel who is literally known for her good looks. It is no surprise that she added the line, “Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie.”

Finally, nearing the end of her 280 character limit, Hadid both reiterates Paul’s comparative unimportance, and tells Paul to “Go to bed ...” These last three words, and the poetic ellipses that follow, contain something beautiful in their simplicity. They allude to a sense of immaturity, almost telling Paul to leave the room because the grown ups are talking now. Put all of these elements together, and it is safe to say that she owned him.

— Staff writer Kathryn B. Klein can be reached at kathryn.klein@thecrimson.com.