Iskra Lawrence, (left), has revealed she was cruelly body-shamed after appearing in Zayn Malik's, (right), new music video. Photos / Getty Images
Iskra Lawrence, (left), has revealed she was cruelly body-shamed after appearing in Zayn Malik's, (right), new music video. Photos / Getty Images
Iskra Lawrence has graced international ad campaigns, hundreds of glamorous social media shots, and the New York Fashion Week runway — yet some people appear to think her body is not worthy of appearing in a Zayn Malik music video.
The model, 27, plays a mysterious assassin in the video for Zayn's new song Sour Diesel, which he released on Wednesday, reports Daily Mail.
Iskra can be seen in the music video wearing a figure-hugging catsuit, pulling off impressive moves during tricky fight scenes — an experience that left her hoping she could one day be 'the first curvy Marvel character'.
But on Friday, Iskra took to Instagram to reveal she has received offensive direct messages from people claiming she is 'too fat and disgusting to know Z or be involved'.
The model initially announced her appearance in Zayn's music video in a gleeful Instagram post on Thursday, writing: 'Surprise, I'm the mystery assassin in Z's new video.'
She thanked Zayn for featuring her in his clip, adding: 'Glad my year of stage combat training a few years ago came in useful. Always dreamt of doing my own stunts! Was obsessed with Xenia and Buffy growing up.'
The next day, however, Iskra returned with a noticeably less cheerful update.
While the vast majority of the comments currently published under her Instagram post are meant to congratulate her or to praise her looks, Iskra revealed she was body-shamed via direct messages after sharing her previous post.
She posted a selfie she snapped in her trailer in between filming scenes for the music video, proudly posing in her catsuit with her hair pulled away from her face.
'What I wasn't expecting was the DMs not only I received but my bestie saying that I was too fat and disgusting to know Z or be involved,' she wrote next to the snap.
Iskra is a vocal advocate for body positivity and often campaigns against unrealistic beauty standards.
When she was a teenager, she was dropped by her first modeling agency because she was considered 'too big' to have a successful career.
Iskra developed an eating disorder as a result of the pressure she faced to be as thin as possible.
On Instagram, she urged those who body-shamed her to stop, writing: 'I've learnt how to let body-shaming not affect how I feel about myself, but can we please start being kind and supportive to one another.
'(I understand I'm only speaking to a small handful of people as nearly all of you who follow me are very loving kind and supportive) but let's stop putting limitations on ourselves and others start celebrating not shaming and embracing not bullying.
'I know the comments may have come from a place of jealously, anger or sadness but if you're hurting trying to hurt someone else will not help you heal.
'So be kind to others and yourself.'
The model praised Zayn (pictured last month in New York City) for picking her "because he knew [she] could kick a**". Photo / Getty Images
The model said Zayn, 25, chose her to appear in his music video 'because he knew [she] could kick a** regardless of [her] size'.
'We should be excited to see more size diversity in all areas of the media, including music videos,' she said.
Iskra are Zayn are both England natives; the model is from iin the West Midlands while Zayn was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Zayn is currently in New York City, where Iskra conducts much of her business and stays frequently.
While Zayn and his girlfriend Gigi Hadid, 23, broke up briefly in March, they were later revealed to have reunited, after being photographed sharing a kiss in New York City.
![The model praised Zayn (pictured last month in New York City) for picking her "because he knew [she] could kick a**". Photo / Getty Images](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/5CBRLYD32VSFUNNN6A5NGNY3EY.jpg?auth=2b4a1fff91b60b097224a08122c61d81ed11007b7e388511e664918ad6e6c476&width=16&height=22&quality=70&smart=true)
