JEDDAH: Palestinian-American supermodel Gigi Hadid hit back at an Islamophobic journalist on Twitter who criticized women for wearing hijabs near the recent New York terror attack scene.
On Wednesday, right-wing activist and journalist Laura Loomer tweeted a photo of female pedestrians wearing heads carves while walking the streets of New York with the caption, “You’d think they’d have the decency to not walk around in hijabs @ cross street of the attack. But they don’t. I bet they’re loving this.”
“Muslims are out in full force at the scene of the NYC #ISIS attack today rubbing it in everyone’s face. Aimlessly walking around in hijabs,” she wrote in another tweet.
Hadid, who recently celebrated the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Adha with her partner Zayn Malik, shared Loomer’s tweet and wrote, “Laura, I hate to give you the attention, but I need to tell you — you’re a expletive moron.”
However, even after facing much flak, Loomer said she stood by her earlier tweet: “The 2 women were smiling/smirking in hijabs as they walked past scene of terrorist attack. That is not appropriate. I stand by what I said.”
Hadid’s tweet was shared more than 49,000 times and liked nearly 172,000 times by her supporters.
The supermodel whose father was came to the US as a Palestinian refugee added her voice to those fighting Islamophobia in the wake of Tuesday’s terror attack.
Gigi and her sister Bella have been vocal about their faith, and have protested Trump’s immigration ban, which included Muslim-majority countries.