Listen, even the best of us give in to our guilty pleasure foods once in a while. But people are beyond pissed at model Gigi Hadid for indulging in everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure fast food spot, McDonald’s. After posting a pic of herself mowing down on some Mickey D’s fries, her followers read her the riot act.
“Pre festival with @mcdonalds yesterday,” Hadid captioned an April 15th paid promotion post she did in collaboration with McDonald’s. “fed & hydrated, thanks friends !” The model, who was at Coachella over the weekend, is pictured eating a single French fry from the iconic red box.
While we were distracted by the white-Crocs-and-socks situation happening in the background, Hadid’s followers, meanwhile, were quick to recognize the absurdity of this partnership.
“It utterly baffles me why an intelligent, well informed, and influential person like yourself would [want] to be affiliated with such a company,” one of Hadid’s Instagram followers commented shortly after Hadid posted. “Surely it can’t be for the money? There are so many other ways to be ‘fed and hydrated.'”
Others berated her for promoting a company with food that negatively impacts public health and wellbeing. And come on, Gigi. We know you didn’t really eat all those fries before dancing in the Coachella heat.
The fast food chain certainly doesn’t need the marketing. Every soul on Earth has eaten or heard about McDonald’s.
So, why would Hadid feel inclined to promote it if not for the money? We’re having flashbacks to Kim K. and her tummy tea.
Sure, McDonald’s has been making strides when it comes to improving the quality of their product and bettering their employee experience. But the fast food company is far from perfect.
Like… far from perfect. Yikes.
And her friendship with the brand is rubbing followers the wrong way. “Aren’t you ashamed?” one follower asked.
Many fans are disappointed, to say the least. This paid partnership was a swing and a miss for Hadid.
Or, should we say, it rummaged up the same feeling one gets when one orders a McFlurry only to be told the ice cream machine is down. Is that too hypocritical?
Although we can only assume Hadid does indulge in McDonald’s here and there (she’s human, after all), we have to agree that this promotional photo is somewhat selling a lie. From previous research, we know a model’s diet usually doesn’t have room for fast food.
Does Hadid know something we don’t know? Wait — is she human?
Hadid is going to have to redeem herself by choosing her next sponsor carefully. Perhaps she could pick something with a bit less of a carbon footprint/tarnished reputation.
Otherwise, her fanbase may shrink. Note to other famous people: a McDonald’s partnership is a no-no.
We guess we should think twice about posting our love affair with McDonald’s fries to social media. We also guess we should think twice about ordering those fries to begin with…
It may be a bit extreme to crucify Hadid for eating a single McDonald’s French fry (and getting paid upward of six figures to do so, ahem). But these commenters make fair points.
With a platform as large as Hadid’s, her publicity should be used to promote companies and products that are making a positive difference in the world. In reality, fast food companies will never make that list.
Hadid can do better. We’re anxious to see how she responds to the criticism and which sponsorship she’ll pick up next.