NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Mohamed Hadid, father to supermodels Bella and Gigi, apologized on Saturday after the dozens of messages he sent Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres targeting the representative’s race and sexual orientation made headlines.
“I need to apologize. Not for the anger I feel but for the words I used to express that anger,” Hadid wrote in a lengthy apology on Instagram. “I intended to express how Mr. Torres is a shill being used by Israel.”
The luxury real estate developer, 75, apparently targeted Torres due to his defense of Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, and his continued support of the country in the months that have followed.
“You worse than the rats of New York sewage system. They have bigger brains than you. You might get a job as bouncer at gay bar,” Hadid wrote to Torres in an Instagram direct message from his verified account, screenshots obtained by the New York Post confirmed.
In his messages, Hadid also said that the congressman was a “slave to whites.”
In 2013, Torres became the first openly-gay elected official in the Bronx when he won a seat on the New York City Council. Eight years later, he made history as the first openly-gay Black, and first openly-gay Hispanic, member of Congress.
“Make sure you dress as KKK to hide that ugly gray colored face of yours,” Hadid wrote to Torres. “I know about Bronx.”
Torres publicly addressed the messages on Sunday morning in an Instagram post of his own, which doubled down on his support for Israel and slammed the racism he experienced as a result.
“For the thought crime of supporting Israel in the wake of October 7th, I have been the target of racist rhetoric from Mohamed Hadid,” Torres wrote. “If you have the audacity to be a person of color AND Pro-Israel, you become fair game for racist hate and harassment.”
The Hadids are Palestinian, and Hadid has been a vocal critic of Israel and the U.S. since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
“I used the wrong words to express this anger but the anger is warranted,” Hadid’s apology continued. “To send Black and Brown and other marginalized communities to do the dirty work of two countries who have never respected them is wrong.”
This is not the first time since the war began that Hadid has drawn attention to his political views. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Hadid compared Israel to Nazis. In an Instagram story, he referred to the conflict as “Biden’s war on the Palestinian people” and claimed that the president would be in court with “the rest of the Zionist criminals.”
Bella and Gigi have also spoken in support of the Palestinian cause.
After Gigi posted an infographic in October that stated “Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic and supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas,” the official state of Israel Instagram responded with their own infographic.
“Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do,” the graphic read.
“I apologize to my community for directing the conversation to this, and even for a minute away from Palestine. All eyes on Palestine. Free Palestine,” Hadid’s apology to Torres concluded.
When reached by 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 on Saturday, Torres’ office confirmed the messages and Torres said he would not be intimidated.
“Mr. Hadid has hurled just about every racist insult at me shorting of calling me the N-word,” Torres said in a statement.
“That Mr. Hadid felt so at ease demonizing and dehumanizing a black Member of Congress reveals a tragic truth about our politics: if you are a person of color and pro-Israel, you are fair game for racist invective,” Torres added.
A representative for the Hadids did not respond to 1010 WINS/WCBS 880’s request for comment.