- Gigi Hadid is the April cover star of Vogue
- The model took part in a Hairspray-inspired video to go alongside the shoot
- But fans on social media have called Hadid out for the ‘fatphobic’ clip
Gigi Hadid wowed the world this week with her sixth cover for Vogue.
The model, 29, features as the star of the April edition of the magazine, in a series of photographs by Annie Leibovitz.
To accompany the shoot, Hadid took part in a Hairspray-themed video alongside Laverne Cox, titled Gigi Hadid Can’t Stop the Beat.
“I feel that as a model, I’m a performer,” Hadid revealed in her interview.
Among her acting credits at school, Hadid starred in The Wizard of Oz, Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, and – as the shoot suggests – Hairspray, in which she played would-be Miss Baltimore Amber von Tussle.
“I grew up doing musical theater. I love all things musical theater,” she confirmed.
What is Hairspray about?
Based on the 1988 movie of the same name, Hairspray in its musical form reached Broadway in 2002.
But the show really gained prominence when it was adapted for the screen again in 2007.
Starring unknown actor Nicki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, the rest of the cast was impossibly star-studded – and included John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley and Allison Janney. Phew!
And while the movie has strong themes of the fight against racial segregation in 1960s America, Tracy herself faces animosity in the fatphobic showbiz world she longs to inhabit.
Why are some fans angry about Gigi Hadid’s Hairspray tribute?
Vogue pay homage to ‘Hairspray’ with Gigi Hadid and Laverne Cox. https://t.co/4pvYpBBBCt
— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 11, 2025
So it was no surprise that some fans were less than pleased about Hadid paying tribute to the movie – as she, Laverne and all of the backing dancers involved in the video have thin bodies.
“You cannot pay tribute to hairspray and not include any fat women,” wrote one person on social media. “Has anyone involved in this even seen the movie?”
Another agreed, “Wait, I didn’t even think about that. You’re so right.”
“Maybe a really skinny girl with not that big of a hair is missing a little/the whole point of the musical.. but ok cute,” someone else said.
A fourth person went on, “How do you make an homage to Hairspray by having a white blonde super skinny model as the main character… Unfortunately, this is a big miss for Vogue.”
While others labelled the video “tone deaf”, they went on, “You can’t just erase meaning for the sake of aesthetic.”
Someone else believed that they’d get rid of the video altogether.
“How long before they delete this and scrub any trace from the internet?” they questioned.
Someone else added, “How do you pay homage to hairspray with no fat people?!?! F*** this and the rampant fatphobia.”
