Gigi Hadid has issued an emotional statement after her name was discovered interwoven within the Epstein files.
The supermodel's name was mentioned amongst that of hundreds of fellow huge-name stars in federal documents that were used to convict Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking charges in 2019.
Until the passing of the Epstein Transparency Act last November, these millions of images, letters, emails and videos had been private.
They were made public following a mandate from the US Congress, in a bid to shed light on Epstein's criminal network and his association with powerful individuals, as well as to help provide closure to his victims.
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Whilst many high-profile persons appeared in the files more explicitly - having either conversed with the late sex offender directly, or posed in images alongside Epstein - several stars were mentioned briefly in passing conversations.
Such was the case for 30-year-old Gigi Hadid.
What did Epstein say about Gigi in the files?
In an email sent in December 2015, viewed by E! News, an individual whose name has been redacted asks Epstein about the professional success of both Gigi and her older sister, Bella.
"How did the Hadid sisters become models and make so much money?! I don’t understand…" the unnamed person asked.
Epstein, who took his own life whilst awaiting trial in jail in 2019, simply wrote back at the time: "You know."
The anonymous emailer then answered, 'The father paid the agency', seemingly referencing the sisters' Palestinian-American real estate developer father, Mohamed Hadid.
Epstein then corrected them, saying, 'No', before Epstein and his unnamed correspondent made a series of vulgar comments.
Epstein's penpal wrote: "There are too many girls giving blowjobs..."
Epstein responded: "Agreed."
His correspondent said: "So what did they do?!"
The disgraced media mogul responded: "Because they follow directions, it’s that simple."
Despite neither of the models ever having had any known affiliation with Epstein, a former fan of Gigi's recently took to her Instagram comments.
There, they claimed they 'had to unfollow' the mother-of-one, because she 'ain't walk bout those files'.
How did Gigi respond?
Gigi quickly wrote back, however, that the same documents 'made me sick to my stomach'.
She went on to say: "Horrible to read someone you’ve never met speak about you that way. Especially in this context. I didn’t comment bc I don’t want to take away from the stories of real victims of his [Epstein's].
"But your comment made me realise maybe its not clear—and it’s important to let you know."
The Maybelline spokesperson went on to address some of the comments made between the unnamed emailer and Epstein in the controversial conversation contained within the files.
She added that, though she 'grew up privileged' from a financial standpoint, her father and mother, ex-model Yolanda Hadid, 'protected me and taught me the value of hard work'.
Gigi then mentioned that she'd first been signed to a modelling agency back in 2012.
"I’ve worked hard every moment since," she continued. "To be named in those files, I think I was 20-21 at the time he would have written that email—is disturbing, and I want to state unequivocally that I have never had any affiliation with that disgusting human being."