Fans Are Slamming Gigi For Not Knowing This ‘Basic Fact’ About Her Boyfriend Zayn

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s relationship hasn’t been without its fair share of controversy, but this latest incident is just a tad ridiculous.

Fans are reportedly up in arms about a comment Gigi made regarding her boyfriend’s heritage, in which she referred to him as “half Middle Eastern.” As A British-Pakistani, Zayn is technically half-Asian, which Twitter users were quick to point out.

@GiGiHadid do you know there is a HUGE difference between Middle East and Southeast Asia ?
And they say you are intelligent

— Aimen (@aimennayyar) October 13, 2016

@GiGiHadid thinks Pakistan is in the middle east that’s why education is important people!

— Nina Mamulashvili (@ninkamamulashvi) October 12, 2016

However it’s worth noting that Gigi herself is one-quarter Palestinian, and that the comments she was making about the Middle East were mainly in reference to herself. Speaking during a recent trip to Dubai, the model said she felt a strong connection with anyone who shared her roots.

“When someone comes up to me and they tell me, ‘I’m Palestinian’ and we make a connection, it’s beautiful,” she told Gulf News.

“My boyfriend is also half Middle Eastern. It’s just a connection that you make that’s really cool. It’s hard to explain but you feel like you’re amongst [your] people.”

Gigi’s mother Yolanda is a Dutch-born American, while her father Mohamed is Palestinian-American. It’s not the first time the model has faced backlash about how she addresses her ethnicity in a public forum.

Back in December, the 21-year-old posted a picture of her hands covered in henna tattoos, but was quick to overstep any negative comments before they even began. “Before you go all ‘cultural appropriation’ in my comments, check out the last name. Hadid. Half Palestinian & proud of it,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

We can understand the controversy about Gigi’s geography flub, but we still reckon she’s more qualified to speak about the Middle East than most of the Fash Pack are.

• Gigi Hadid
• Zayn Malik