Hailey Baldwin Says She Doesn't Like Being Called an 'Insta Model': 'I Work My A** Off'
Hailey Baldwin doesn't like being called an "Insta model."
The 20-year-old beauty explains what she despises about the label, and opens up about her spiritual and political views in a cover story for Elle UK's July issue.
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"I work my a** off to make what I have and to prove that this is what I want to do," Baldwin says of the misperception that social media is responsible for her career. "I want to be a model. I don't think I would be where I am if people didn't see something in me."
"I put all my modeling [photos] on my Instagram because I'm showing it to people," she continues. "It's not about me getting paid to model for things on Instagram – of course, sometimes we do get paid for things we do for Instagram and Twitter – but there is a line of calling someone an 'Insta model' or an 'Insta star.'"
Despite her millions of followers online, Baldwin knows when it's time to unplug from social networking. In December, she went on a monthlong digital detox, in order to face some personal issues.
"There were a lot of things happening for me personally at that time and I was kind of depressed," she confesses. "I totally understand when people say they need time to themselves. It made me realize that. I'll leave [my phone] in the car when I go to eat or I'll leave it somewhere so I'm not checking it every two seconds.'"
Baldwin also calls herself the "mom" among her group of friends, and admitted to being a "little nerdy."
"I like taking care of people, I like nurturing people," she shares before revealing a tidbit about her pal, Kendall Jenner. "We sometimes call Kendall [Jenner] 'Mamma Kens' because she's very rational. She has a good head on her shoulders and she's a straight thinker…I'm kind of like an encyclopedia. I'm a little nerdy to be honest."
On the subject of politics, Baldwin makes it clear that her views aren’t shaped by her family members (her father, Stephen Baldwin supports President Donald Trump. while her uncle, Alec Baldwin, impersonates the commander in chief on Saturday Night Live).
"I've differed with my dad on pretty much everything in politics, especially lately, but I'm 100 percent my own person," she points out. "They're my family at the end of the day. I love them to death, but it's never going to permanently change anything for me. I've always had my own thoughts on politics."
Although the Baldwins disagree on political issues, spirituality is a common ground for Baldwin and her father, who became a born-again fundamentalist following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Besides quoting the Bible "all the time," Baldwin says she's "quite serious" about incorporating lessons from the scriptures into her "everyday life."
"It's not funny when people joke about it, I actually find it quite offensive," she shares of her spiritual beliefs. "It's something that's really important to me and I've seen it change a lot of people's lives. It certainly did in my family. It's something I plan to stick to for the rest of my life – raise my kids that way, marry someone who believes in the same things. It's important to me."
"Spirituality is a good way of being able to always be connected with something that's bigger than you," Baldwin adds. "It's an anchor.'
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