Taking the stage to accept her award at 2019 Variety's Power of Women in New York, the Victoria's Secret model tears up as she recalls her trip to a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
- Apr 6, 2019
AceShowbiz - Gigi Hadid was one of the honorees at 2019 Variety's Power of Women which took place at Cipriani Midtown in New York City on Friday, April 5. Taking the stage to accept her award, the international supermodel got emotional as she talked about using her fame to better the world as well as discussed the power of social media.
Recalling the time when she visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh, Gigi said, "Even with their lives in limbo, these women and girls had such desire to do more, to be more and to get educated to better their lives. When we asked them how UNICEF could help in different ways, and most importantly, what they wanted us to tell the world about them, what it really boiled down to was that they want an identity."
The Victoria's Secret model couldn't hold back her tears any longer when she realized that the people she met in Bangladesh still stayed there even when she already went back home. She continued, "We can get so stuck in our own heads, and out own worlds can feel very overwhelming at times, but most of us have the true gift of identity, and the power to express ourselves, the power to speak out for those who cannot for themselves, and the power to uplift one another."
Gigi went on urging people to be "a voice for someone, support someone, encourage someone, tell someone how they inspire you," adding that people shouldn't let negative comments get the better of them. "We cannot let the negative comments, the bad energy and false assumptions of us to keep us from doing the good we know we can do with our platforms," she noted.
Elsewhere in her speech, Gigi thanked the women whom she looked up to, including her mother Yolanda Hadid and her grandmother. She also expressed her gratitude for sister Bella Hadid, telling her not to cry while holding back her own tears. "You are talented, you are hardworking, you are creative, kind, loyal, honest and you are unapologetically yourselves, and you all inspire me in your own ways," she gushed.
Besides Gigi, other honorees at the annual event included Bette Midler, Taraji P. Henson and Kacey Musgraves.
