Bella Hadid under fire for UAE visit amid boycott calls for Sudan

Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid is facing widespread criticism online for visiting the United Arab Emirates to launch her perfume brand in the region on Sunday, amid calls to boycott the Gulf state for its role in Sudan's war.

Known for her vocal support of various social causes, and in particular, her outspoken advocacy for the Palestinian people and protest against the genocide in Gaza, the 29-year-old is being accused of hypocrisy and performative activism.

Sudanese and other human rights advocates have been calling for the international community to avoid trips to the UAE and stop purchasing from Emirati-linked brands over the Gulf state’s backing of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is accused of massacres and abuses in Sudan’s devastating war.

Online users expressed disappointment at her visit, with many highlighting Hadid’s voiced support for the Sudanese people through her social media posts.

On 7 November, Hadid pushed for a global call to speak up for Sudan on her Instagram account. 

“We will never stop caring, and never stop sharing. If you have the space in your heart, please open it to Sudan,” she said.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Bella 🦋 (@bellahadid)

In a separate post, she shared a graphic reading: "All eyes on Palestine-Sudan-Congo. Nobody is free until everybody is free."

Now, social media users are pointing to these types of posts, arguing that they were insincere.

"By traveling to, promoting, & financially supporting a place like Dubai, a city whose wealth is deeply entangled with z [sic] very genocide in Sudan[,] Bella Hadid & people like her claims to care about (through resource plunder and political backing), she exposes a profound hypocrisy," wrote one user. 

"What makes the UAE any better than Israel?" asked Palestinian activist and scholar Ghada Sasa.

"As Palestinians we should be among the leading boycotters of the UAE for its ongoing genocide against Sudan and its Zionist politics."

Middle East Eye has reached out to Hadid for comment. 

The war in Sudan started in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, spiralled into open conflict. 

Middle East Eye reported in January 2024 that the UAE was supplying the RSF with weapons through a complex network of supply lines and alliances stretching across Libya, Chad and Uganda.

More recently, MEE has reported on the existence of two Emirati bases inside Sudan, as well as the use of Bosaso, on Somalia's coast, as part of the UAE's supply line to the RSF.