Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid have always been notably private about their personal lives and this blanket of privacy extends to their daughter, Khai, as Gigi made clear in a letter she addressed to the press on Tuesday.
She titled it ‘letter from a mamma’ and it addressed all forms of press from journalists to bloggers to fan accounts, pleading with them to respect her daughter’s privacy.
‘As our baby grows up we have to realise that we can't protect her from everything the way we wanted to and could when she was smaller.’
The letter requests that any photos taken to be published of Khai blur the 9-month-olds face out to protect her image and privacy, when she is too young to have a say in it.
In what she titled a "letter from a mamma" on July 5, the model asked the paparazzi, the press and fan accounts to respect the privacy of her and Zayn Malik's 9-month-old daughter Khai. The new parents have recently enjoyed a more private life on their family farm in Pennsylvania, but now that they’re returning to the city with their daughter, they’re increasingly aware that their presence there is causing a media flurry.
‘[Khai] loves seeing the world!’ Gigi shared. ‘And although she gets a lot of that out near the farm, she also gets to experience other places—a true blessing. On our most recent visits to New York, she has started to want her sun shade lifted up (something she is used to at home) and helps herself to it! She doesn't understand why she's covered in the city or what I've wanted to protect her from. I also want her to see the most amazing city in the world + the beautiful and diverse people that walk down the streets of NYC…that is, without the stress of the media circus that comes with parents who are public figures.’
Media laws vary from state to state regarding paparazzi pictures of kids and with famous parents, the issue is more complicated. Gigi requests that paparazzi blur out Khai’s face if they get it in their photos to protect her privacy. Gigi notes that some paparazzi have already been doing this and acknowledges the ambiguity of the laws.
‘From asking around, I believe that that comes down to the integrity of the photographer, publications or fans sharing the images.’ To those already practicing the blurring she pens. ‘I see you and I appreciate it.’
Gigi reiterated the fact that they have never shown their own daughters face on their social media for this exact reason so that ‘she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age, and that she can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen.’
The pair have been extremely careful with this on their social media, keeping their little one away from the public eye since before she was born, with Gigi only sharing her first bump photos last August, one month before she gave birth.
Sharing the big news that Gigi had given birth to their first child, both Gigi and Zayn posted a simple black and white close-up photo holding their newborn’s tiny hand, and since their beautiful baby girl entered the world, the pair have been keeping her away from the limelight by never sharing photos with her face in view, as well as keeping her name a secret, until she was several months old.
She pleads with fans and paparazzi alike to help her maintain that anonymity now that the world is reopening. ‘You know we have never intentionally shared our daughters face on social media…It would mean the world to us, as we take our daughter to see and explore NYC and the world, if you would PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE blur her face out of images, if and when she is caught on camera. I know it's an extra effort—but as a new mom, I just want the best for my baby, as all parents do…and I hope this can continue the conversation to protect minors in the media, even if they come from a public family.’
‘For a child, I can imagine that close or dramatic paparazzi frenzies must be overwhelming and disorienting…it still is as an adult that understands and deals with it often," She ends the letter with thanks. ‘I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you can understand where I'm coming from. With love, G.’
Gigi shared the open letter on her stories and Twitter feed asking for cooperation, the humbling letter a plea for humanity amongst celebrity culture.
