Those boxing classes certainly paid off!

Gigi Hadid sprung into action when she was accosted by prankster Vitalii Sediuk outside the MaxMara show in Milan earlier this month, and while she received heaps of praise for her decision to elbow the guy and defend herself, she also oddly drew some backlash. Now, the supermodel is speaking to Lenny Letter about the incident, and explaining the course of events as she sees it.

"I played volleyball, and my coaches talked about muscle memory. I started boxing two years ago and I always remembered that. Since then, I hadn't been in a situation that forced me to fight back, but it just came out when he grabbed—me it wasn't a choice. I do have that fighter in me. Honestly, I felt I was in danger, and I had every right to react the way I did. If anything, I want girls to see the video and know that they have the right to fight back, too, if put in a similar situation," she wrote in the latest installment.

The catwalker then took the opportunity to call out a journalist who dared to criticize her decision to act aggressively.

"The first article that was posted about the incident was headlined: 'Not model behavior. Gigi aggressively lashes out and elbows fan in the face after he tries to pick her up...' That's when I really got pissed. First of all, it was a woman who wrote the story with that headline. What would you tell your daughter to do? If my behavior isn't model behavior, then what is? What would you have told your daughter to do in that situation?" she fumed.

In the end, she just wants people to realize that sticking up for themselves is not a bad thing.

"It sounds cliché to say it, but in the moment, it wasn't heroic to me. It was just what I had to do. It's very touching to me that people see it that way. I know people are put in much worse situations every day and don't have the cameras around that provoke social-media support. I just want to use what happened to me to show that it's everyone's right, and it can be empowering, to be able to defend yourself," she concluded.

Zayn Malik better never make her angry!