Gigi Hadid was arrested for drug possession in the Cayman Islands.
The model and influencer pleaded guilty and had to pay USD 1000 bail
After rumors of a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio, model Gigi Hadid went on vacation to the Cayman Islands with her friend Leah Nicole McCarthy. Upon landing at Owen Roberts International Airport in the paradise destination on July 10, the duo passed their luggage through the airport’s security checkpoints; after passing the scanner, authorities detected certain “irregularities”, so they opted to make a more thorough inspection.
Gigi Hadid and her friend Leah McCarty pleaded guilty and had to pay a $1,000 fine Photo: Instagram/ leahmccarthy
After the search, authorities discovered that Gigi Hadid and her friend Leah had in their possession marijuana and items for its consumption, so they ended up being arrested on charges of “suspicion of importation of marijuana and importation of utensils used for the consumption of marijuana”. Gigi and Leah were transported to the local Detention Center for processing and later released on bail because the amounts of marijuana they both possessed were minimal and for personal consumption.
Gigi Hadid is already basking in the Cayman Islands sun Photo: Instagram/Gigi Hadid
On July 12, Hadid and McCarthy appeared in Summary Court and pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and were each required to post $1,000 bail with no jail time.
Hadid’s legal representative assured that the marijuana she was carrying was for medical use and had been purchased in New York City. It should be recalled that cannabis has been illegal in the Cayman Islands since 2016, but small doses of CBD for medical therapies are allowed.
“Gigi was traveling with marijuana purchased legally in NYC with a medical license. It has also been legal for medical use in Grand Cayman since 2017. Her record remains clean and she enjoyed the rest of her time on the island,” Gigi Hadid’s legal representative said.
While, the case has caused outrage and concern among the model’s fans, Hadid took to social media to assure that despite the bad time she had with Leah, both are already enjoying the beaches of the Cayman Islands. “All’s well that ends well,” Hadid wrote on her social networks along with several photos and videos where she shows off tight bikinis and boasts the delights they have enjoyed these days at the beach.
After more than a decade in the public eye, Gigi Hadid is already an expert in handling situations where she gets involved in scandal. In an interview held last February with Elle magazine, the model talked about how she has “toughened up” thanks to her experience.
“I’ve had early experiences where you learn how the world reacts when you share things in certain ways. Sometimes you leave something feeling like you’ve been taken out of context. Or you just feel like you’ve revealed too much and you’ve been taken advantage of. Whatever those learning experiences are on the hard road, you grow a certain skin.”
More recently, the father of his son Khai, Zayn Malik, broke his silence about the 360 days of probation the former One Direction had to serve after allegedly attacking Gigi Hadid’s mother, Yolanda.
Zayn Malik, Gigi Hadid’s ex-partner, broke the silence about the alleged attack against Gigi’s mother (Photo: Twitter@bigotesdegatox)
“I didn’t want to draw attention to it and I didn’t want to have a negative back and forth with her or any kind of narrative that my son would get to read. I think I dealt with it the best way and that’s all there is to say. There was a lot of negativity. These are family issues that I prefer to keep in the family.”
So far, Gigi has refused to give a statement about the incident, while a representative has assured that she only wants to focus on what’s best for Khai, so she asked for privacy in the face of the incident.
Khai, only two years old, was not seen with his mother on vacation in the Cayman Islands.