How Gigi Hadid's mum responded to her street attack in Milan is a true parenting win.

Last week model Gigi Hadid had to defend herself twice.

She had to fight back against a physical attack by a stranger on the street in Milan and then later she had to fight back against the media criticism saying she was wrong to do so.

But there was one person who certainly stood by her throughout the ordeal: her mother, Yolanda Hadid.

In this week’s issue of Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter, Hadid says her mum taught her the skills she needed to fight back the way she did and that she was rightfully proud of the way she handled herself.

“When my mom (sic) first saw what had happened, she texted me the picture of me elbowing the guy and (among other messages of support) said, ‘Good girl’,” Hadid writes.

“My mom has taught me the power of my instincts since I was a kid. She’d always be like, ‘OK. Pay attention to the people who make you feel uncomfortable. I want you to tap into that and be aware of it.’ I continue to use that intuition with the fashion industry and the people who I have to be around. It usually guides me pretty well. I think it guided me in this situation, too.”

A photo posted by Lenny (@lennyletter) on Sep 27, 2016 at 7:04am PDT

In her piece, the 21-year-old model describes the moment she was attacked. She explains that when she felt her assailant—parasitic celebrity harasser and one of the world’s most storied assholes Vitalii Sediuk—picking her up as she left a Max Mara fashion show in Milan her first reaction was: “Get me out of this situation.”

From there, she reacted instinctively. She explains that she started boxing two years ago but since then hasn’t been in a situation that forced her to fight back. But when he grabbed her “it wasn’t a choice” she says adding “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," the model writes. "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.

A video posted by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on Oct 10, 2015 at 10:01am PDT

"Practicing defence is important so that when you're in the moment, reacting from muscle memory comes more naturally to you than freezing up. Confidence in your own ability to defend yourself comes with educating yourself about it, and is a massive advantage when in an unsafe situation."

When video of the attack surfaced online, many applauded her reaction, but Hadid points out not everyone was Team Hadid.

"The first article that was posted about the incident was headlined: 'Not model behaviour. Gigi aggressively lashes out and elbows fan in the face after he tries to pick her up. The supermodel angrily hit an unknown man before running to her car'", the model recounts. "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 behaviour isn't model behaviour, then what is? What would you have told your daughter to do in that situation?" Hadid asks.

Many are calling Hadid's reaction in that moment heroic, but while touched by that assessment, she says, "It was just what I had to do."

"I know people are put in much worse situations every day and don't have the cameras around that provoke social-media support," she says. "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."

A video posted by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on Nov 7, 2015 at 6:25am PST