‘On our own terms’: Gigi Hadid isn’t happy with the way her pregnancy was announced

Gigi Hadid confirmed her pregnancy but wishes things were handled differently, making us ask how celebrity culture has grown so toxic for women

Gigi Hadid officially confirmed her pregnancy on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show yesterday evening. 

After Fallon congratulated her, Hadid responded saying that while she was excited about the news, her and her boyfriend, Zayn Malik, were disappointed they didn’t get to make the public announcement themselves.

“Obviously, we wish we could have announced it on our own terms,” she said. “But we’re very excited and happy and grateful for everyone’s well wishes and support.”

An ‘inside source’ had leaked the baby news after Hadid’s 25th birthday party last week. Unfortunately, this has been far too popular a trend for women in the public eye.

The tabloids, as always, gobbled the gossip up, and the poor girl’s pregnancy was plastered everywhere — even Chrissy Teigen tweeted her congratulations before she later realised that the model hadn’t actually announced the news herself.

“F***, I dunno if it’s true. I just read TMZ just like all of you,” Teigen apologised. “Sh**. I had no idea. I just saw it trending.” Teigen realised her blunder and didn’t want to fuel the unprecedented gossip that she herself has been a victim of over the years.

Sadly, it seems that, in today’s world, celebrities have had the right to their own terms taken away from them.

Body image

After the news went viral, photos were shared of Hadid during her birthday bash, zooming up on her stomach and pointing out her baby bump (which is nearly impossible to see in the pics by the way).

We see this baby bump shenanigans constantly when it comes to celeb pregnancy rumours, but most of the time, they don’t actually turn out to be accurate.

Remember when Eva Longoria had an allergic reaction to cheese and everyone swore she was pregnant?

Or how poor Jennifer Aniston has been scrutinised head to toe since her acting debut, especially about how she hasn’t had any children.

“I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad childless human”

“It’s like, why are we only looking at women through this particular lens of picking us apart? Why are we listening to it?” Aniston said in response to the neverending gossip.

“I just thought: I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad childless human.”

And it’s sad how true her statement is — there’s some kind of sick stigma that surrounds famous women, saying that we have the right to critique their bodies because they are not just an average person anymore. 

But when did fame become a precursor for intense criticism on physical features people have no control over? (Probably around the same time that paparazzi evolved into blood-sucking boundary breakers and tabloids offered cash prizes for ‘inside scoops’.)

It’s time we change the harsh and unfair judgements that have weaseled their way into social media and Hollywood culture.

Body positivity

When it comes to body image, it is so important that we respect each other and lift one another up with encouragement and reassurance.

There is so much toxicity about the ‘perfect female body’ built from years of misogyny, stereotypes, films and male-controlled media. 

So instead of buying into the goss of financially incentivised rumours, let’s not fuel the fire.

Let’s try and see, not only celebrities, but all the women we follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter as real people, struggling with their own views of themselves and flood our news feeds with comments of confidence and constructive interaction.

Read more: Sipping a cocktail in a dressing gown during lockdown? Let’s all be more like Meryl Streep

Read more: Bianca Jagger’s quarantine routine involves yoga in the bath

Read more: How are six of Ireland’s leading wellness experts keeping their head right now?