Dior didn’t replace Bella Hadid with an Israeli model over her pro-Palestinian comments amid Israel's war with Hamas
Bella Hadid was not axed by Dior for supporting Palestine amid rumours that an Israeli model named May Tager had replaced her.
Social media users have been claiming that Dior has dropped Bella Hadid due to the supermodel’s recent comments on the latest Israel-Hamas war. They are saying that Dior has ended its partnership with Bella because she posted a message of support for Palestinians, and the brand replaced her in a new ad campaign with Israeli model May Tager. Also read: Find out about Gigi and Bella's Palestine connection, how their father's family was ‘kicked out’ by Jewish family they gave shelter to
Bella Hadid not axed by Dior
The claims are false as Bella Hadid’s contract with the luxury fashion house ended in March 2022, long before the latest conflict, a person close to the matter told The Associated Press. And while May Tager is one of several models appearing in Dior’s 2023 holiday campaign, she was also in the 2022 version — and both ads more prominently featured actor Anya Taylor-Joy.
What Bella Hadid said about ongoing conflict
Bella Hadid, whose father Mohamed Hadid is Palestinian, has repeatedly made public remarks criticising the Israeli government and supporting Palestinians in the years since she was named a brand ambassador for Dior’s makeup in 2016.
After the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out last month, she posted an October 23 statement on Instagram, lamenting the loss of innocent lives, while calling on followers to pressure their leaders to protect civilians in Gaza.
Bella's Dior campaign and departure from brand
When Dior released its new holiday campaign in the following days — with some ads featuring May Tager — social media users tried to link the two together, suggesting without evidence that Bella Hadid had been unceremoniously axed from the promotion due to her statement.
“Dior has REPLACED Bella Hadid with an ISRAELI model in their latest campaign. This comes after Bella Hadid came out in support of Palestine,” said one post with more than 11,000 likes on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. A hashtag calling to boycott the brand also circulated on the site.
But Bella Hadid’s contract with Dior ended more than a year ago, in March 2022, and was not extended, according to a person close to the matter, who is known to the AP, but insisted on anonymity. The person is not authorised to be publicly named discussing contractual matters. The person would not provide a reason for Bella Hadid’s departure, saying only that it was a commercial decision. She was replaced by various models for her roles with Dior, none of whom are May Tager, the person said.
May Tager's work with Dior
The claim that Bella Hadid was suddenly dropped for May Tager in the holiday campaign also just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Rather than suddenly being brought in to replace Bella Hadid, May Tager also appeared in Dior’s 2022 holiday marketing. She was one of several models in both campaigns, and they both centered around Taylor-Joy, who has been a global brand ambassador for Dior since 2021.
A similar claim about Dior dumping Bella Hadid over her pro-Palestinian comments circulated online in March 2021 — yet months later, she promoted Dior’s makeup at an event at the Cannes Film Festival.
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