Gigi Hadid Narrates Episode Of ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 2
It’s here, you guys! Yep, after months of anticipation, Never Have I Ever Season 2 has finally premiered on Netflix,
Lillie Gissen
It’s here, you guys! Yep, after months of anticipation, Never Have I Ever Season 2 has finally premiered on Netflix, and we’ve already binge-watched the entire thing! But wait, whose voice is that in the third episode?! It sounds familiar. Drum roll please… It turns out, it’s the one and only Gigi Hadid! That’s right, the model actually narrated the episode after Chrissy Teigen stepped down from the role earlier this year.
The episode was all about Paxton Hall-Yoshida (who is played by Darren Barnet), and while narrating it, Hadid admitted that she totally related to what he was going through, since they’re both totally good looking.
“This is Paxton Hall-Yoshida. He’s a 16-year-old boy from Sherman Oaks, California. And I am model, designer, activist, and a former 16-year-old from California, Gigi Hadid. You may be asking yourself, ‘Why is old Gig-ers taking time out of her busy skedge to narrate the story of a 16-year-old boy?’ Believe it or not — I relate to this kid,” she said. “We’re both constantly underestimated because people only see us as sex symbols. When scientists declare your face to be perfectly symmetrical, that’s all everyone thinks you have to offer the world. But we’ve got brains, too, and feelings and — Paxton, dude, put a shirt on. I’m trying to make a point here. Anyway, we have so much more going on inside. At least that’s true for me. We’ll see what happens with Paxton.”
Why Did Chrissy Teigen Step Down?
Originally, Teigen was supposed to narrate the episode, but she decided to back out after she admitted to bullying Courtney Stodden online in the past. At the time, a spokesperson for the TV show said, “[Teigen] has decided to step away from a guest voiceover role in one episode of the upcoming second season of Never Have I Ever. The role is expected to be recast.”
For those who missed it, Teigen publicly apologized after Stodden (who identifies as non-binary) accused her of telling them to “kill themselves” in the past.
“Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls**t in front of the entire world,” she wrote in a lengthy Twitter note. “I’m mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention seeking troll. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior but that is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel. I have worked so hard to give you guys joy and be beloved and the feeling of letting you down is nearly unbearable, truly. These were not my only mistakes and surely won’t be my last as hard as I try but god I will try!”
is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel. I have worked so hard to give you guys joy and be beloved and the feeling of letting you down is nearly unbearable, truly. These were not my only mistakes and surely won’t be my last as hard as I try but god I will try!!
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 12, 2021
What Else Do We Know About ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 2?
According to Collider, the new season picks up right where the first one left off, when Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) realized that her academic rival Ben Gross (played be Jaren Lewison) was in love with her. And now, she must choose between them and popular guy and longtime crush Paxton. But that’s not the only problem she’s going to face this season. Yep, there’s reportedly a new student in town, named Aneesa (played by Megan Suri), who may be “strong competition for one of her beau’s affections.”
According to showrunner Lang Fisher, this season heavily focuses on “moving on.” As viewers of the first season know, Devi tragically lost her dad, and it hasn’t been easy for her, or her mom, to accept that.
“Both [Devi’s mom] Nalini and Devi had pushed it off and not dealt with their feelings about [her dad] Mohan dying,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly. “And this season, it’s about moving on. It’s about life without him and how to bounce back.”
Plus, Ramakrishnan told Variety the main things she wants her character to focus on in Season 2, and they were: “Understanding that she needs to be more appreciative of her family and her friends because her friends do a lot for her. Her friends really are her day ones. And also understanding where her mother’s coming from. That is something that we’ll be able to have a lot of audiences relate to, understanding where our parents are coming from even though they might not go about doing certain things the best way possible.”
What Else Is Gigi Hadid Up To These Days?
Besides using her voice in epic Netflix shows, Hadid is also busy raising her daughter, Khai Malik! For those who missed it, the blonde beauty welcomed her first child with Zayn Malik back in September 2020, and she recently got real about how she is teaching her mixed daughter to become a bridge for her different ethnicities, while reflecting on her own sense of identity.
“[Zayn and I] think about it and talk about it a lot as partners and it’s something that’s really important to us, but it’s also something that we first experienced ourselves,” Hadid, who is Palestinian-American, explained. “We are that first generation of those mixed races, and then that comes with that first generational experience of being like, ‘Oh damn, I’m the bridge!’ That’s not something that my parents experienced or that they can really help me through. It’s something I’ve always thought about my whole life. In certain situations, I feel – or I’m made to feel – that I’m too white to stand up for part of my Arab heritage. You go through life trying to figure out where you fit in racially. Is what I am, or what I have, enough to do what I feel is right?” she explained to i-D. “But then, also, is that taking advantage of the privilege of having the whiteness within me, right? Am I allowed to speak for this side of me, or is that speaking on something that I don’t experience enough to know?”
She continued, “I think that Khai will grow up feeling out the way that she can or wants to be a bridge for her different ethnicities. I think that it will be nice to be able to have those conversations, and see where she comes from [with] it, without us putting that onto her. What comes from her is what I’m most excited about, and being able to add to that or answer her questions, you know?”