Bella Hadid says that she regrets not being able to embrace her Muslim culture growing up.
While speaking with GQ, the supermodel admitted that she’s not as in touch with her Muslim roots as she wishes to be.
“I would have loved to grow up and be with my dad every day and studying and really being able to practice, just in general being able to live in a Muslim culture,” she said.
“But I wasn’t given that.”
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The 25-year-old has opened up about how her Free Palestine activism has affected her career in the past and why she chooses to keep speaking out.
“I speak about [this stuff] for the elderly that are still living there that have never been able to see Palestine free, and for the children that can still grow up and have a beautiful life," she said.
Hadid’s remarks come ahead of her acting debut in Hulu’s Ramy.
The comedy-drama series follows a first-generation American Muslim navigating himself through the Western world, where Muslims are usually portrayed as the ‘bay guys’.
Hadid noted that by joining the cast, she could reconnect with her heritage in a small way.
The show’s creator and star Ramy Yousself also told GQ: “Bella’s telling you she feels this deep connection when she’s in a mosque or when she’s praying, but there’s also this hesitation to say ‘Muslim’ because of this specificity of what that can look like.”
The model also shared the time when Ramy came over to hers during Ramadan, where the two prayed together, recalling the experience as one of the most ‘beautiful’ moments of her adult life thus far.
She added: “The way he embraces people, even if they just have an ounce of faith—he makes them feel like the ounce is worthy of practicing and holding onto.
"He makes them feel like Muslim spaces are welcome to everyone.”
Hadid also recently revealed on the Noor Tagouri’s Rep podcast that her support for Palestine had impacted her career.
She said: "I had so many companies that stopped working with me.”
She even shared how many friends ‘dropped’ her instantly after voicing her grievances for the war-torn country.
However, despite the public backlash to her advocacy, Bella explained: "I know my family enough, I know my own history enough. And that should be enough.”
Charisa Bossinakis