PBP’s Richard Boyd Barrett says he was “wasn’t aware” of Bella Hadid, but glad to connect with her

The TD is now one of the 728 people that Hadid follows.

An Irish TD made headlines last week after a world famous supermodel shared his post to millions. People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett had his message platformed on a world stage when Bella Hadid shared his post on her Instagram stories for 50 million people to see. The post, created by Barrett, outlined the difference between the Irish government's funding for horse racing and domestic violence refuges. Irish Twitter, naturally, lost its mind at the surprising turn of events, but Barrett says he hadn't heard of the model until the moment she shared his post. Speaking at Leinster House on Tuesday afternoon, he said: “I wasn’t aware of Bella Hadid, but it would appear she is an activist and an advocate on behalf of Palestine, women’s rights and progressive causes. “So, I am very glad to have made contact with an activist and I am always keen to meet activists who are campaigning on similar issues to ourselves. “I did send her back a message thanking her for the follow and the share and just saying I am always glad to be on touch with activists campaigning on similar issues to ourselves.” He went on to address how the star may have found his page, guessing that it was when he gave a speech in relation to treatment of Palestinians by Israel, which went viral in early March. [caption id="attachment_552883" align="alignnone" width="1259"] Photograph: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie[/caption] “I think the reason, probably, why I came across the radar of Bella Hadid is because of the video from the Dáil where I was speaking about Palestine and the double standards in terms of western policy towards occupation and invasion which went viral around the world,” he said. “She is half Palestinian so I’m assuming that is the reason I came across her radar.” Barrett said he has been too busy to check if she's responded to his private message yet. “To be honest, we have a lot on our plate in terms of issues to campaign for so I know it is of entertainment value to people out there but I think I am more focused on the campaign issues and it would seem Bella Hadid is focused on the substantial issues rather the glamour of it all.” Feature Image via Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie