No, Dior has not replaced Bella Hadid with an Israeli model for supporting Palestine

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
December 15 2023

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Screenshots of the viral claim that Dior replaced Bella Hadid with Israeli model May Tager over her support for Palestine. (Source: Instagram/X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, Bella Hadid, on October 27, 2023, shared a statement on Instagram expressing her support for Palestine, and urging followers to pressure leaders to protect civilians in Gaza.

What's the claim?

Following Luxury fashion house Dior's launch of its holiday campaign on November 3 showcasing Israeli model May Tager, social media users suggested that the campaign was related to Hadid's prior statement, implying Hadid was removed from the promotion due to her support for Palestine. This sparked criticism and calls for a boycott on social media.

An Instagram post garnering over 70,000 likes featured a news article from November 6, 2023, claiming that "Dior replaced Palestinian Bella Hadid with an Israeli model as a brand ambassador." The post included a screenshot of the article.

Screenshot of Instagram post. (Source: Instagram/Screenshot/ Modified by Logically Facts)

The post was captioned, "Dior has replaced Bella Hadid with an Israeli model in their latest campaign. This comes after Bella Hadid came out in support of Palestine. Bella has been a longstanding supporter of Palestine, due to her Palestinian heritage, and her family suffering directly from the occupation. Shameful move by Dior. Dior just made it on the boycott list."

The narrative is also being shared on X (formerly Twitter). Archives of such posts can be seen here and here.

However, the claims are false, as Hadid left Dior and joined beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury in March 2023, seven months before the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict began.

What are the facts?

Upon reviewing the screenshot featuring the article headline, "Dior replaces Palestinian Bella Hadid with Israeli model as brand ambassador," shared on social media posts, we found that it originated from an Albawaba article in the Middle East. However, the report lacks supporting sources and uses unverified references (X posts).

Further, the claim that Dior replaced Hadid surfaced after Israeli model May Tager appeared in the Dior beauty holidays campaign. However, it's worth noting that Tager has a history with Dior, having been part of a 2022 campaign. She also posted the Dior ad on her Instagram page on November 3, 2022. Tager continues to be featured as one of the side models in the current campaign, as she was in the past.

Hadid joined Charlotte Tilbury in March 2023, as reported by Business of Fashion, which stated that Hadid and the brand are collaborating on ad campaigns and other digital content as part of their partnership. 

Even Beauty Crew published an article on March 3, 2023, with the headline, "Bella Hadid has left Dior for Charlotte Tilbury," referencing a post on the Charlotte Tilbury Instagram account that revealed Hadid as the brand's new face. The official announcement regarding Hadid's association with Charlotte Tilbury was made on March 1, 2023. The Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7, 2023, seven months after Hadid's collaboration with Charlotte Tilbury was initially announced.

According to an anonymous source known to the Associated Press, Hadid's contract with Dior concluded in March last year and was not renewed. The individual did not offer a specific reason for Hadid's departure but characterized it as a commercial decision. The source stated that various models replaced Hadid in her Dior roles; notably, Tager was not among them.

Logically Facts has contacted Hadid and Dior for a comment.

The verdict

The claim that Dior dismissed Bella Hadid for her pro-Palestinian remarks, replacing her with an Israeli model amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, is false, as Hadid's contract with Dior concluded in March 2022, before the Israel-Hamas war started. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.