Gigi Hadid said she hopes to inspire other girls and young women to learn how to defend themselves after the video of her being accosted by celebrity 'prankster' Vitalii Sediuk went viral.
The model reflected on the incident in Lena Dunham’s newsletter, Lenny Letter, admitting that she truly felt she was in danger until her instinct from her two years of boxing training kicked in.
Gigi Hadid said she felt she was in danger during the incident
"Since then, I hadn't been in a situation that forced me to fight back, but it just came out when he grabbed me – it wasn't a choice. I do have that fighter in me, " Gigi said.
"Honestly, I felt I was in danger, and I had every right to react the way I did. If anything, I want girls to see the video and know that they have the right to fight back, too, if put in a similar situation."
The 21-year-old continued: "Practicing self-defence is important so that when you're in the moment, reacting from muscle memory comes more naturally to you than freezing up.
The model said she hopes to inspire young women to learn how to defend themselves
"Confidence in your own ability to defend yourself comes with educating yourself about it, and is a massive advantage when in an unsafe situation."
Gigi has previously defended her right to hit back at her attacker, and joked that he should have been grateful that her boyfriend Zayn Malik wasn’t there at the time.
The model made headlines around the world following the incident, prompting her friend Ansel Egort to tweet and ask her: "Where was zayn at??"
In reply, the 21-year-old replied: "@AnselElgort that guy should prob take some time away from icing his jaw tonight to count his lucky stars that Z wasn't there…"