DUBAI: From Rihanna and Kate Hudson to Gwyneth Paltrow and Olivia Munn, celebrities have taken to social media condemning the recent surge in anti-Asian violence after a 21-year-old man entered three massage parlors on 16 March in Atlanta killing eight women – six of whom were Asian. Also using her platform to advocate against the increase in hate crimes against the Asian community is Australian model Shanina Shaik, who is of Saudi and Pakistani descent.
The supermodel, who has walked the Victoria’s Secret runway five times, invited two guests to her weekly Instagram Live series “Wellness Wednesdays” to address Sinophobia.
The 30-year-old announced that she will be hosting the Instagram Live series “Wellness Wednesdays” back in May. The online series, that typically focuses on wellness and health, takes place once a week on Wednesdays, and features a new guest to discuss topics ranging from mental to physical health. The first episode, featuring Glennon Doyle, an American author and an activist, premiered on May 13.
This week, best-selling author and returning guest Candice Kamay and Nadya Okamoto, founder of lifestyle platform It’s August, joined Shaik in the Instagram Live session to speak about instances of racist and often violent attacks against Asians.
“I decided to do this IG Live because of the ongoing issues with hate crimes toward Asians,” explained Shaik ahead of the episode, “And I recently did (a) Clubhouse conversation with these two amazing women and I think it’s important to continue this conversation and help one another, educate one another and most importantly, support one another.”
She added: “I’m really excited for this just because it’s really important. I’ve been seeing a lot of videos recently that it’s so harmful and so hurtful and it hits home for me.”
US-Iraqi beauty mogul Huda Kattan also recently spoke out about racism toward the Asian community that she says has “increased dramatically” since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2019.
Moroccan-British model Nora Attal took to Instagram to speak up about violence against the Asian community in the UK, too. She wrote: “This is disgusting… people are using Asians as a scapegoat to vent their anger.”
