Gigi Hadid mocked for calling Pakistani-British boyfriend Zayn Malik 'Middle Eastern'

Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, claimed she and Malik share a 'Middle Eastern' heritage

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid at Paris Fashion Week (Getty)

Fans of Zayn Malik have taken it upon themselves to give his girlfriend Gigi Hadid a geography lesson.

The model recently spoke about her Palestinian heritage while visiting Dubai. It was there that she also said her boyfriend, Malik of One Direction fame, was of Middle East heritage too.

“I love it here and I love going to places that remind me of my Dad’s side of the family,” she told UAE newspaper Gulf News. “I especially love it when you meet other Arabs. There’s such a sense of family regardless of whether you are blood related or not anywhere in the oworld. When someone comes up to me and they tell me, ‘I’m Palestinian’ and we make a connection, it’s beautiful.

“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.”

The issue was, as Gulf News pointed out, Malik is Pakistani-British, which some of his avid fans were keen to remind Hadid about.

Hadid and Malik have been dating for just under a year and made their first red-carpet appearance as a couple at the Met Gala in May. She has also publicly supported him through his struggles with anxiety which have seen him cancel a number of shows in recent months.