Now, he’s sorry.
Mohamed Hadid, the father of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid issued a half-hearted apology Saturday night, hours after his hateful messages to Congressman Ritchie Torres over the Bronx rep’s support of Israel were exposed by The Post.
The Palestinian native said “I need to apologize” for his language to Torres — which was widely blasted as racist — but still went on to describe the congressman as “a shill being used by Israel.”
He also said in the message, which was posted on social media, that “I used the wrong words to express this anger but the anger is warranted.”
Torres ripped the attempted apology.
“The so-called apology is as fraudulent as the man himself. Mr. Hadid has been unmasked as a rabid racist to the core, and his pitiful attempt at a ‘mea culpa’ is fooling no one,” he told the Post.
The real estate magnate had spent months lambasting Torres with bigoted and homophobic messages via direct messages on Instagram, slamming the African and Latino pol as a “slave to whites.”
“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, 75, wrote in one vitriolic missive.
“Make sure you dress as KKK to hide that ugly gray colored face of yours,” the developer added. “I know about Bronx.”
The progressive Democrat, 36, apparently become a target for Hadid in the wake of his outspoken defense of Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre.
Hours after The Post’s story was published, Hadid issued a mea culpa.
“I need to apologize. Not for the anger I feel but for the words I used to express that anger. I intended to express how Mr Torres is a shill being used by Israel,” he wrote. “A state that not only mistreats black and brown people but pinkwashes their atrocities using their projected gay rights as a shield for their human rights violations.
“My feeling after 76 years of being a refugee from the country where I and my ancestors were born and watching a genocide unfold are at an all time high,” he continued. “I am watching United States politicians work as AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] messengers of genocide. I used the wrong words to express this anger but the anger is warranted.”
Hadid, a luxury developer, said he regretted “directing the conversation to this. And even for a minute away from Palestine.”
