Gigi Hadid blasted for 'disrespectful' Melania Trump impersonation

Gigi Hadid has been criticized for her impersonation of future First Lady Melania Trump at an awards show on Sunday (20Nov16).

The 21-year-old model co-hosted the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles alongside comic Jay Pharoah, with the pair pulling out all the stops with their jokes, including a few digs at the President-elect and his Slovenian-born wife, Melania.

After taking shots at Drake and Meek Mill, Gigi poked fun at Melania’s Republican National Convention speech, in which she was accused of plagiarizing the words Michelle Obama said onstage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

"This is my Melania Trump impression. I gotta get the face right," she smiled.

"I love my husband, President Barack Obama," she continued, pursing her lips and making an attempt at Melania's Slovenian accent. "And our children, Sasha and Malia."

Stand-up comedian Jay, who impersonated Donald following Bruno Mars' 24k Magic performance, gave Gigi a rave review, exclaiming, "That's spot-on!"

However, Gigi’s impersonation was met with scathing criticism on social media.

One user tweeted: "Melania Trump is going to be the first lady of the USA! This is the highest form of disrespect possible (sic)!"

While another user wrote, "Errr, is it just me or was Gigi Hadid's Melania Trump impression a little racist? And not funny anyway."

Gigi's impersonation comes after President-elect Donald criticized the cast of Broadway musical Hamilton, following actor Brandon Victor Dixon singling out Vice President-elect Mike Pence in a monologue in which he called on him to ensure diversity during his upcoming tenure at the White House.

Donald tweeted: "The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."