Gigi Hadid Arrested Over Weed in Cayman Islands, Fined $1000

Supermodel Gigi Hadid was reportedly arrested on July 10 with weed and paraphernalia in the Cayman Islands, according to local reporting by Rolling Stone.

According to reports, Hadid flew by private plane to the Caymans – a British overseas territory in the Caribbean frequented by the wealthy due to their especially lax tax laws – with a friend. Their luggage was searched at the airport, where, Cayman Marl Road reports, “ganja and utensils used for the consumption of ganja” were discovered. The two were arrested, taken to the Prisoner Detention Center, and released on bail. Two days later, they pled guilty to the charges in court and were fined $1,000, “with no conviction recorded,” according to the outlet.

Hadid’s rep told E! News that the marijuana was purchased with a medical license in New York and that medical marijuana is also legal in the Cayman Islands.

As US marijuana restrictions have loosened, celebrities and other high-profile individuals have been penalized, with varying degrees of severity, for bringing the drug on international travels. In one of the most serious cases, WNBA player Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia and accused of bringing two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil into the country last year and was imprisoned from February 2022 until December. Impacted by global political tensions between Russia and the US over Ukraine, Griner’s incarceration ultimately ended with a prisoner exchange between the two countries. Over the weekend, Griner played in her first All-Star game with the Phoenix Mercury since her release. (Griner returned to the WNBA in May.)

Griner’s and Hadid’s experiences demonstrate the range of marijuana policies globally, though it is also worth noting that amid the disparity between their punishments: Griner is a more masculine-presenting Black woman in an industry so low-paying she had no choice but to play in another country, while Hadid is a white Arab feminine model with global recognition. (Of course, the political differences between Russia and the Cayman Islands are too complicated to unpack in this short news story.)

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