Update 13 February 2018: In her first interview since revealing she suffers from Hashimoto disease in 2016, Gigi Hadid has told E! News: 'I've loved my body when I was just diagnosed and I loved [it] going through it and I love my body now.
'It's just about everyone accepting their body as it matures and knowing that it's not always going to look the same and you can love yourself in all different sizes.'
Days after her sister Bella called the police on an alleged stalker outside her NYC apartment, it appears Gigi Hadid is having to deal with trouble of her own during New York Fashion Week.
After walking in Jeremy Scott's AW show on Thursday and the Bottega Veneta's show on Friday, the supermodel took to Twitter to defend herself after being criticised for being 'too skinny' on the runway.
Her posts began with the model discussing her long-term suffering with Hashimoto's disease, which she revealed to the public for the first time in December 2016.
'For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/ Hashimoto's disease; those of u who called me 'too big for the industry' were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that.''
The 22-year-old model went onto explain the disease is a condition in which 'your immune system attacks your thyroid... The thyroid gland is part of your endocrine system, which produces hormones that coordinate many of your body's functions.'
She added that in getting help for the condition, her weight has fluctuated over the years.
'Over the last few years I've been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body's ability to retain heat, etc,' she wrote.
'I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out.'
Opening up about her weight, the Californian said she doesn't know how 'skinny' she is but insists she's healthy.
'Although stress & excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better,' she added.
The star also pointed out that her weight had nothing to do with drugs, as some online trolls suggested.
'Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because u dont understand the way my body has matured,' she continued.
The Stuart Weitzman model finally encouraged the world to stop body shaming people when medical complications could be at play for a person's fluctuating physique.
'Please, as social media users & human beings in general, learn to have more empathy for others and know that you never really know the whole story. Use your energy to lift those that you admire rather than be cruel to those u don't,' wrote the model.
The model's followers commented on the star's posts to sow their support, with friends and celebrities like Ruby Rose and Chrissy Teigen showering Hadid with loving words.
Chrissy said: 'Alternate tweet: "f*ck off".'
Well put, Teigen.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
