FACT CHECK

Bella Hadid's departure from Dior is unrelated to her Palestinian support | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall
USA TODAY

The claim: Dior replaced Bella Hadid with Israeli model over pro-Palestinian views

A Nov. 7 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of model Bella Hadid.

"Dior replaces Palestinian Bella Hadid with Israeli model as brand ambassador," reads an article headline within the post.

The post's caption says, "This comes after Bella Hadid came out in support of Palestine."

The post garnered more than 70,000 likes in a month. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and Instagram.

More from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

Our rating: False

Hadid's departure from Dior is unrelated to her public support for Palestinians, as it happened long before the current Israel-Hamas conflict. She became a brand ambassador for a different company back in March.

Hadid's departure unrelated to Palestinian support

Celebrities such as Melissa Barrera and Susan Sarandon have been dropped from talent agencies or projects for publicly voicing support for Palestinians. But Hadid, whose father is Palestinian and who has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, has not faced such a fate with Dior.

The Associated Press reported Hadid left Dior when her contract ended in March 2022. There are no reputable reports that her departure was connected to her Palestinian support, and in any case it long pre-dated the current conflict.

Her partnership with the makeup company Charlotte Tilbury as its brand ambassador was announced on March 1, more than seven months before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to Harper's Bazaar. The article states that Hadid "previously served as the face of Christian Dior makeup starting in 2016."

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The article shown in the Instagram post claims Dior replaced Hadid with the Israeli model May Tager. Tager's employment with Dior isn't new, however. She was featured in one of the company's holiday ad campaigns back in November 2022.

USA TODAY reached out to Dior, a spokesperson for Hadid and the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Lead Stories and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.

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