Gigi Hadid on her weight loss: ‘If I could choose, I would have my ass back’

Harper's BAZAAR May 2018 Cover_NS

Gigi Hadid covers the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar, where she was interviewed by Blake Lively for this cover story. How in the world do Blake and Gigi even know each other? It’s never really established, and frankly, they don’t seem super-close or knowledgeable about each other. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Gigi on dealing with trolls on social media: “Most of it is just nonsense. But it can still hurt. Nowadays, people are quick to say, “I used to love Gigi’s body, and now she just gave in.” But I’m not skinny because I gave in to the industry. When I had a more athletic figure, I was proud of my body because I was an amazing volleyball player and horseback rider. But after discovering that I have Hashimoto’s [an autoimmune disease], I needed to eat healthy and work out. It was weird as a teenager, dealing with this when all of my friends could eat McDonald’s and it wouldn’t affect them.”

On being body-shamed for being “too big” and “too small”: “If I could choose, I would have my ass back and I would have the t-ts I had a few years ago. But, honestly, we can’t look back with regret. I loved my body then, and I love my body now. Whoever is reading this, I want you to realize that three years from now you will look back at a picture from this time period and be like: “Wow, I was so hot. Why did I feel so bad about myself because of some stupid thing someone said?””

Advice from her mom: “She always said that with any photographer, no matter who it is, you can speak up if you’re uncomfortable. And I’ve done that. Obviously, when I was younger, there were times where, you know, things happen quickly on the set. Someone will all of a sudden say, “Oh, you wouldn’t mind…” It’s about learning your power and knowing when to protect yourself.”

Whether she went to prom: “All four years. I never bought a prom dress; I just went in my mom’s closet. We wear the same size shoe and dress, so it was major. In Malibu, we wore short dresses to prom because it’s a beach town. The gown situation wasn’t really our thing.

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

I remember when Gigi stood out for being slightly bigger than the average model. From my memories of that brief moment in time, she was applauded, not criticized, although I’m sure there is always someone on the internet being an a–hole. But mostly, she was widely praised for having an athletic figure and “curves.” Now she uses Hashimoto’s as the excuse for why she’s lost so much weight and… well, some of you aren’t buying it. I don’t know if I’m buying it, but she’s sticking to her story, so it is what it is. I also have to say, she’s totally right about looking back at old photos of yourself and feeling like “Damn, why was I so self-conscious back then, I was hot!” I wish I could go back and tell that to myself at the age of 16.

Meanwhile, Gigi and Zayn were seen out together this week in New York. I think I predicted at some point that they would be back together for the Met Gala? I’m telling you, my gossip predictions have been on fire lately.

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Photos courtesy of Mariano Vivanco for Harper’s Bazaar, sent from Bazaar’s promotional email.

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72 Responses to “Gigi Hadid on her weight loss: ‘If I could choose, I would have my ass back’”

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  1. lightpurple says:

    She’s welcome to have my ass. I’ve got plenty to spare.

  2. Eleonor says:

    I have the Hashimoto, and I have never had weight loss, but it is possible she has changed medication and this is the result. Every case is different I think.

    • Hannah says:

      I was sort of thinking the same…I have similar symptoms to Hashimoto ans it’s definitely not weight loss, if anything – it makes you gain weight more. But I think that’s what I sort of inferred from the article – she (thought) she was overweight due to the disease so she had to change her diet to curbe it..? Was she ever heavy, though? Dunno…like someone said below lots of diseases and lots of changed bodies. Glad she’s doing better, though.

      • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

        I think this is much closer to reality. Hashimoto thyroiditis can cause symptoms of hypothyroidism, which can cause dry skin, cold intolerance, fatigue, and weight gain (being the most noticeable symptoms). If that were the case, she’d have to be extra restrictive of calories to lose, rather than not gain. Rotten either way.

      • Eleonor says:

        When everything is ok with the medication there’isn’t weight gain, at least in my case : I am always on my correct weight , but if I want to loose weight I have to workout a lot. Unless she is following a specific diet on medical order, I don’t think the weight loss can be related to the Hashimoto.

    • carol says:

      the irony is that Hashimoto’s makes you gain weight. unless she is over taking her thyroid medication–not recommended, you can get heart arrhythmias

  3. Alissa says:

    I would imagine they know each other through Taylor Swift. they were both part of the squad.

  4. Clare says:

    I think she underestimates her privilege being the daughter of Yolanda Hadid and Mohamed Hahid, and step daughter of David Foster (when she was starting out) when she talks about standing up to photographers.

    Not every model (especially the ones struggling financially) have the ability to walk away from a shoot because they are uncomfortable doing something. It’s shitty, but that’s the reality. To pretend otherwise is bullshit and blames the victims for not ‘standing up for themselves’ or whatever.

    • anna222 says:

      Yep, being able to speak up for yourself and say no without fear of winding up unemployed and homeless is great but it speaks to her privilege and it would be good if she acknowledged that. Even better, she could use her privilege to speak up for other models that are disenfranchised.

      • perplexed says:

        Gwyneth Paltrow and Mira Sorvino’s privilege didn’t protect them from the advances of Harvey Weinstein. Also, look at the other story today about the princess who was assaulted. So …I think the advice any model can give to other models is to learn to speak up for themselves.

      • anna222 says:

        Perplexed I’m not saying that privilege protects you from abuse, but if you are from a wealthy, successful family, you can speak up to a photographer and say no I’m not comfortable with this. Maybe you lose that job, but you will still have a roof over your head. If you are a fifteen year old from a low socio economic background and you say I’m not okay with this – that may mean you don’t get offered any other work. Again, I’m not saying Gigi is to blame for this! But when she talks about the strong assertive attitude her mother taught her, it would be great if she acknowledged that she had that privilege and wanted to work to support other models that don’t have her advantage.

      • Grinning mama bear says:

        Sorvino and Paltrow are acting royalty but not really money and influence royalty. Hadid’s father is filthy rich and that buys you influence. He can influence/afford people like tough lawyers and some of the other kind of people, too. Just imagine some photographer harassed his daughter and the latter kind of people pay this photographer a friendly visit 😉 . Hadid’s step father David Foster is a big man in the entertainment industry who can likely point out which photographers have a bad reputation. Hadid can simply afford bodyguards for a shooting. One stern look of a muscle man in the direction of a photographer and the latter behaves well.

        Hadid mostly claims that she made it with hard work and a little bit of luck (if she ain’t no a…). If she would admit nepotism then that would reduce the quality of her brand. And I am mad at this. Essentially these are the two scenarios:

        Hadid can stand up to a photographer
        1. because she has the social capital to be able to do it and
        2. because if a photographer mistreats her he might find himself out of work for a while. Yep, Hadid’s father and step father have that kind of power. (Okay, maybe they can’t blackball the top photographers but the middle range (who do some middle-range fashion and advertisement shoots) for sure.)

        If some teenager from a low socio economic background stands up to a photographer then this teenager won’t be booked ever again for model jobs. And a lot of people from a low socio economic background lack social capital, sadly.

    • perplexed says:

      She didn’t blame any victims. All she mentioned was the advice her mom gave her.

    • naomipaige says:

      I always thought that. Personally, I don’t believe she would be where she is w/o her parents being who they are. I’ve said the same for Cindy Crawford’s daughter, and Kim Bassinger’s daughter. Sorry, can’t remember her name right now. As well as Kendall Jenner (dead eyes)

      • Grinning mama bear says:

        I get the impression that neither Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber nor Basinger’s daughter (Hailey Baldwin?) do have a stellar career ahead of them in the modeling business nor in the movie business. Whenever I see Crawford and her daughter standing next to each other I think that the mother is the better looking one and the more interesting one. Kaia looks like some pre-teen (face) who got all dolled up like a sexy adult and that kind of repels me visually.

      • kittyhawk says:

        I think it’s Ireland. Kim + Alec. Hailey is from the broke crazy one I think he is called Stephen. She has great legs and is photographed a lot more than Ireland who isn’t really model material. I remember when Gigi and Bella first started modeling there was a clip of them in swimsuits doing runway and people called them out of shape. They both started to get really skinning following that incident.

  5. babu says:

    So many mysterious diseases,
    so many unacknowledged features changes
    so many discussions about “I don t care about my looks but…”

    • Jegede says:

      LOL. Yeah.

      I hate to say, it but I side-eye all the Hadids (their mum included) for these ‘illnesses’ that precipitated all three’s weight loss.

  6. Kitten says:

    Not sure I’m buying it. Easier to believe she caved to pressure in a brutal industry.
    I will say this: GiGi is really beautiful IMO. I actually kind of like her, too, for some reason.

    • minx says:

      I like her, too. She has a distinct look, expressive eyes.

    • teacakes says:

      @Kitten imo Gigi is the only one of the nepotism models who could have actually had a high fashion career even without the rich and famous parents/step-parents. Her look is very distinctive, unlike the others of her ilk.

      (Oh wait there’s also Cara Delevigne but ymmv on that, I think her being totally shielded by privilege was the reason she got to be so open on twitter/insta back in the day and got popular as a result)

    • Veronica S. says:

      I think her eyes have a very exotic beauty to them, almost cat-like in their shape. I also think she is a relatively good editorial model. Terrible on the runway, sure, but legitimately compelling to look at in photos.

    • Gigi LaMoore says:

      Just doesn’t do it for me. None of them do. Bring back the 90’s type models.

  7. Red says:

    Well I’m not buying it. She looks scarily thin in those paparazzi photos. I just find it so convenient that people in the fashion industry told her she was too big for modeling, and that’s when she discovered a disease that made her lose a ton of weight.

    Her and Zayn look awful recently, both way skinnier than they used to be. And don’t even get me started on their “private” pap stroll.

  8. jferber says:

    I have Hashimotos too and I would LOVE if it made me pin thin, but unfortunately, it doesn’t (and I’d hazard to say it doesn’t do this for anybody). If only. This is the thyroid version of a deviated septum. You starve to be that thin and you get a nose job to change the shape of your nose because you want to. End of story.

    • Vava says:

      having deviated septum surgery doesn’t change the shape or size of your nose………..unless you request that as part of the procedure.

    • NYGal says:

      I have hypothyroidism due to hosimotos as well, and it makes me gain and not lose. And was rail thin as a teen.. with this condition I gained 10 pounds in one months time. I exercise and and try to be good with my diet. But I’m not buying her reasoning. She must be super restrictive with her diet, and using this condition as an excuse, especially if she stated she loved her figure. I’m sure she could maintain it, since she figured out how to lose weight with this condition.

      • Grinning mama bear says:

        She probably overdoses a little bit or keeps her doses rather in the upper levels to help with the weight loss.

  9. Veronica S. says:

    *eye roll* Hashimotos is an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid gland. It actually causes weight GAIN because it ultimately results in destruction of the thyroid gland and your body can’t properly metabolize T3 and T4. The only autoimmune thyroid disease that causes weight loss is Graves disease, which leads to hypERthyroidism because the thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) is similar enough to the natural compound TSH (thyroid stimulating thyroid) that the gland can’t differentiate between the two. Ultimately, a person with Graves disease usually winds up with hypothyroidism because the only way to treat it is to essentially kill off the thyroid gland. Both disease ultimately wind up treated through medication – either by ingested/injecting synthetic T4 or another thyroid derivative.

    I think it’s probably likely that she has Hashimoto’s because it is a very common disease. (I have it, and so does my mother.) But she didn’t lose weight because of it. She lost weight because she changed her diet and/or exercised more, which I can see as a responsive mechanism to the changes in her metabolic needs, but chances are they caught the disease before it began to seriously screw with her metabolism. If she’s dosing regularly with Synthroid or another derivative and isn’t dealing with being hypersensitive to the weight gain, then she’d be fine maintaining where she is. If she’s losing weight without diet/exercise changes from treating the disease with hormone replacement, her dose of Synthroid is too high – but this is actually something that doctors have caught patients doing for weight loss purposes, despite the awful side effects.

    • Apalapa says:

      I heard that people with eating disorders will try to convince a doctor they need thyroid hormone for weight loss. Jaime King mentioned trying it for weight.

      But the long term side effects of taking thyroid when you don’t need it seem beyond scary to me

      • Grinning mama bear says:

        A lot of doctors are willing to prescribe thyroid hormones to people who want to lose weight but who wouldn’t really need hormones. Because the side effects of thyroid hormone abuse aren’t that severe as long as you don’t severely overdose. And because it doesn’t show: neither in blood (drug) tests nor in the face or in any way. The effects are moderate, though, because the thyroid gland adapts to the additional hormones by reducing its own hormone output somewhat.

        Allegedly doctors for wealthy middle class patients are more likely do “help” their clients in such ways.

        Considering how much weight Gigi lost I think you can speculate that she didn’t rely just on thyroid hormones.

        I think this drug crisis (Oxy addiction) happened the same way: doctors wanted to make their patients happy and they wanted them to stay with them because they don’t want patients to switch doctors just because the other doctor is more easygoing with Oxy prescriptions. Voila doctor becomes drug dealer.

      • Veronica S. says:

        It can quite literally kill you if you overdose. Thyroid hormone effects the metabolic function of nearly every tissue in the body. My doctor made me get a second series of blood tests when I talked to him about changing the dose because he’s gunshy about increasing the dose without hard evidence he needs to do so. He had a patient purposefully doubling up her dose on her own to lose weight and wound up in cardiac arrest.

  10. LIONOHHHH86 says:

    Oh ffs. She’s going to milk her “disease” when she knows damn well and good she doesn’t have it. If you’re going to claim something you should atleast do your research about the symptoms/effects first. Lame biatch.

  11. Kathleen says:

    I seem to remember that when she first started and did a TH show there was a comment that she could only wear a poncho because none of the other clothes could fit her. (I could be wrong).
    But yeah I don’t feel good commenting on people’s health issues but her mother has a history of mysterious diseases as well. (Is it Lyme, bad implants, teeth fillings, parasites? These are all things Yolanda has claimed)
    Beautiful girl though. But why is she being interviewed anyway?

  12. HK9 says:

    This is what disingenuous looks like with a glam squad.

  13. MellyMel says:

    Her and Blake are friends through Taylor Swift. I hate that I know that.

  14. tonetest says:

    She, Karlie Kloss and Taylor “Speaking out against white supremacists is too political” Swift all lost an insane amount of weight around the same time. That whole 1989 era, they looked deathly ill. Cocaine coven?

    • Grinning mama bear says:

      I start thinking that substance abuse testing should be mandatory for people in the media. And publish the results.

    • Rose says:

      Taylor an Karlie never looked deathly ill ? Thin yes but healthy.
      I’m sure Taylor isn’t one for drugs, she’s been famous for 10 years and there’s never been even a hint of a rumour about that .

      • Veronica S. says:

        Ehhh…they were both bordering into gaunt territory a few years back, but I credited it that more to the industry they were involved in than drug addiction. Taylor was hanging around a lot of models, women who are pressured to be bone thin as a rule of thumb. I’m not surprised that as Karlie’s profile has grown that she’s gained a little weight – she’s in more of a position to argue for her bodily rights now and isn’t doing as much runway work.

  15. Jayna says:

    Sure, Gigi.

  16. MamaHoneyBadger says:

    “I wish I could go back and tell that to myself at the age of 16.”

    And 26 and 36 and…

    I’m 51 and finally okay with my body. You will always look back and wonder why you were so self-critical. The trick is to wonder why in the present moment.

  17. Annabelle says:

    On Gigi Hadid – if I could choose, I’d have my eyes back. Her sister is stunning though totally brain dead.

  18. Jesse says:

    Weight loss = c*ke addiction. It’s well known and widely reported.

    • Veronica S. says:

      Maybe not even an addiction but a straight up weight loss tool. I knew somebody who dabbled in it in their younger years, and they said after snorting it, they understand why so many models use it – it’s such a powerful stimulant that you can practically go all day without eating because it wrecks your appetite.

      • Steph says:

        My friend tried once and said she felt a lot of energy for hours but after the effects passed she felt like she was going die and never tried again.

    • Grinning mama bear says:

      Coke users will pay for substance abuse with hefty health problems. Kognitive troubles. Brain tissue is affected. Hormone mechanics* are affected by coke use over long periods of time.
      The only thing I am really angry about is that the likes of coke-using models are famed for being thin and they earn money because of that. They say it was all diet and exercise but if us mere mortals try that approach we do usually fail and feel like losers in the genetic lottery although we are merely sane enough to not do substance abuse. I think it is some kind of fraud. They say it is diet and exercise but nope, it is dope. Deceptive and fraudulent advertising it is. Media should work harder to expose this.

      * I am no doctor so forgive my medical metaphors.

  19. j says:

    i don’t understand how one is athletic and strong due to rigorous exercise, “discovers” they have hashimotos, then becomes thin and weak by…exercise?

    i find it very interesting that she says she “discovered” she had hashimotos as opposed to being diagnosed with it. doesn’t mention any assessments, tests, medications, follow ups, or any kind of treatment to manage the condition. only diet and exercise. all very odd.

    • Happy21 says:

      I thought that as well. She totally contradicted herself. I was strong and playing volleyball then I had to exercise? WTF are you actually talking about?!?!

    • lucy2 says:

      That didn’t make any sense to me either, and as others have said, Hashimoto’s generally leads to weight GAIN not weight loss.

  20. Grinning mama bear says:

    Yep, me Hashimoto thyroid condition, too.

    Most people who suffer from Hashimoto have trouble losing weight. I have never heard of a case when Hashimoto caused you to lose weight.
    Hashimoto is an under-active thyroid condition. When your thyroid is under-active you likely gain weight. Hashimoto is a special thyroid condition: it is an auto-immune disease and the immune system attacks the thyroid gland resulting in inflammation (which is a period when a Hashimoto patient feels particularly tired and worn-out and not good). Hashimoto patients do usually have trouble adjusting their thyroid intake because necessary increases in the dosis do result in relatively hefty troubles because a Hashimoto thyroid gland can’t adapt well to changes to the dosis.

    I have no idea how comes that Hadid loses weight with Hashimoto.

    • tw says:

      Because she’s a lying cokehead.

    • barrett says:

      I lost weight with Hashimotos at first (sweats, hyper, the runs) and the went on meds, doctor said if they didn’t catch it and I went on meds, I would go the reserve a gain weight. I think as a person who has thyroid and other issues w endometriosis, we are being harsh on her. This stuff is not fun, gotta take care of our health!

  21. Cherryl says:

    That girl is lying so much, I can’t even believe it. You’re not losing weight because if Hashimoto. If anything, you’re gaining weight. I remember her on the Real Housewives when she was on a super strict diet to become a model. What would really be refreshing is, if any of these girls would actually admit to an eating disorder and not make up stuff why they’re so skinny.

  22. Neha says:

    I don’t think she’s saying she lost weight because of the disease, but once she realized that was going on, she took steps to minimize the symptoms. For a lot of people, that means changing up diet and exercise. Gina Rodriquez talked about the same thing.

    • Jayna says:

      And she could keep some weight on her if she wanted to while still eating healthier and exercising. That’s if she really wanted to, because she misses her old body as much as she claims. So I consider that just an excuse. She wanted to be thin. It happens because she’s around extremely thin models. The same thing happened to her sister. I notice she’s thinner also.

  23. No Doubtful says:

    “I want you to realize that three years from now you will look back at a picture from this time period and be like: “Wow, I was so hot. Why did I feel so bad about myself because of some stupid thing someone said?”” THIS IS SO TRUE! And not even just what someone else says…mostly about what *I* thought about myself.

  24. Patty says:

    She never had much of an ass to begin with. And count me in on the Thyroid issues. I take Synthroid and Cytomel – the latter twice a day – and mine got so bad mid 2016-into 2017 that I gained 30 lbs.

    • carol says:

      really? I really liked her pre weight loss body! She had herself some womanly thighs.

  25. tw says:

    Let’s be honest. She’s a cokehead. And Zayn was dumped by his manager because of his drug problems.

    • buckley says:

      This is what I think too. On him it is actually showing. Not so much her.
      The pictures of Gigi at Coachella “eating” hot dogs and posing with food…classic deflection.

      • tw says:

        Yup. I used to be friends with a model who would eat one thing a day, like a hamburger, and she would make sure everyone saw it or posted it online. OK, so yeah, she ate 700 calories a day. And let’s be honest, she took off the bun, so is was probably more like 400 calories.

      • Shan says:

        And it’s always crap food. Binge eating McDonald’s while Bella conveniently videos it. Hot dogs. Mac n cheese. It’s like when the VS girls post pictures of themselves scarfing down trash after the show, when you know they starved themselves for weeks prior and wouldn’t be able to tolerate rich, deep fried stuff. The only thing that food is doing is being purged as soon as the cameras are away.

  26. StormsMama says:

    She’s gorgeous
    I will never forget the first SI swimsuit issue pics I saw of her in 2014
    Jersey shore and Hawaii
    Stunning
    She looks very high fashion skinny now which is too bad but she’s still beautiful and I don’t understand anyone who says otherwise. To me she is WAY WAY better than any other in her peer group.

    https://www.si.com/swimsuit/model/gigi-hadid

  27. Naddie says:

    These people. It’s funny how anything about their looks is never for aesthetic, right? I read this narrative all the freaking time: “I work out to look healthy, not pretty”, “I got a thinner nose to correct a breathing problem”, “I lost weight because lettuce tastes better than chocolate”.