Faryal Makhdoom has hit back at trolls after she was criticized for attending the closing night of the Red Sea International Film Festival on Thursday “half-naked”.
The Pakistani-American model – wife of boxer Amir Khan – was in Saudi Arabia for the festival and looked stunning as she walked the red carpet in a white satin dress complete with extravagant beaded belt details, a headscarf and a dramatic train.
The glamorous garment featured a thigh-high slit that showed off her toned legs and revealed a pair of sky-high silver stilettos.
Still, Faryal's followers were offended by her striking outfit and accused her of “hypocrisy” for wearing the revealing ensemble a day after visiting the holy city of Mecca.
Trolls rushed to criticize the 32-year-old star on social media after she shared an Instagram photo of her ensemble on Friday, with one commenting: 'this girl f*cking confuses me, I can't take her seriously… you expect people say they respect you if one minute in Saudi Arabia you preach your religion about finding God and five minutes later leave the most holy place to be half naked and do things for influence…'
Faryal Makhdoom has hit back at trolls after she was slammed for attending the closing night of the Red Sea International Film Festival on Thursday 'half-naked'
Faryal's followers were offended by her striking outfit and accused her of 'hypocrisy' for wearing the revealing ensemble a day after visiting the holy city of Mecca.
Others said: 'What's the point of covering your head if the rest of your body is visible?'; 'hypocrisy one minute umrah n look now'; 'These Arab countries do not represent the Islamic ummah…'
Faryal quickly hit back at the trolls, as she pointed out that she doesn't normally wear the hijab and that she didn't expect the slit of her dress to be so long.
She shared, “Even though I don't have to explain myself to anyone, I thought I would clarify one thing, I have been to Umrah many times before, but this particular visit was not planned, I was invited to the Red Sea- film festival so I flew down to attend it, while I was there I couldn't visit Mecca which was 1 hour away from me so I went.
“My dress was pre-planned, my Umrah trip was not. The reactions I get are absurd, my dress isn't all that revealing, and I shouldn't think twice about doing what my heart was called to do because of the dress I planned for the event.
'Yes, I try to improve myself every day as a Muslim and slowly I will get there, Inshallah.
“But please understand one thing: I am not a hijabi, so stop expecting me to dress like one, in fact, stop having expectations of me. I'm not asking to be your role model.
'Ps – I was happy to be in Saudi Arabia among many like-minded people talking about Palestine at the film festival, which was admirable to see and be apart
“Also NGL, I was devastated at how long the crack was.”
At the final festival, Faryal presented a united front with her husband.
Former professional boxer Amir, 36, sweetly posed arm in arm with his glamorous wife as they stepped out at the glitzy event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Amir, who was recently embroiled in several fraud scandals, looked dapper in an all-black suit as he walked the red carpet with his wife.
The Pakistani-American model – wife of boxer Amir Khan – looked stunning as she walked the red carpet in a white satin dress complete with headscarf and dramatic train
Trolls rushed to criticize the 32-year-old social media star after she shared an Instagram photo of her ensemble on Friday
Faryal quickly hit back at the trolls, as she pointed out that she doesn't normally wear the hijab and that she didn't expect the slit of her dress to be so long.
The couple looked as close as ever as they posed arm in arm on the red carpet while smiling for the cameras.
They joined a slew of A-list guests on the festival's closing night, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry and Freida Pinto.
It comes after Amir praised his 'forgiving' wife Faryal after he became publicly embroiled in several cheating scandals.
The couple recently hit a rocky point in their relationship when a former BBC presenter accused the sportsman of making sexual advances towards her after they appeared at an event together.
The couple are also said to have split and have been living apart over the summer after he reportedly asked a bridal model to send him raunchy photos.
Speaking about his wife of 10 years – with whom he shares children Lamaisah, nine, Alayna, five, and three-year-old Muhammad – Amir said in September: 'Ah, she's brilliant, yes, she's good… Well, she's the big boss .'
He added on the They Don't Teach This At School with Myleene Klass podcast: “I always get criticized for doing crazy things and I got caught doing crazy things and at the end of the day, of course, I'm human.”
Amir continued, “She's very forgiving, but I think if you keep pushing someone it becomes too much, she'll say, you know what, get away from me.
“I can see that she loves me very much and she's very caring and all that, because honestly, there's a lot of things she does behind the scenes that people don't see.
'Like, for example, she set up my training camp, she set up the contracts, the lawyers she deals with, the accountants she deals with, she deals with all the accounts we have in Britain and all that.
“We have to make this payment, make this payment. She does everything. I don't have any headaches at home, she takes care of all that, as well as all the administrative work, because I can't do that.
“But it's good that she took the pressure off me in that regard… And you know, sometimes you need someone to be a good backbone, and then there's someone there to support you. Someone who takes that pressure off you.'
Former professional boxer Amir, 36, lovingly posed arm-in-arm with his glamorous wife Faryal as they stepped out at the glitzy event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Amir, who was recently embroiled in several fraud scandals, looked dapper in an all-black suit as he walked the red carpet with his wife
Amir, whose marriage has been dogged by a number of cheating allegations, is said to have contacted a model named Sumaira, 25, on May 6, three days after he was shown to be evicted from pre-recorded film I'm A Celebrity… South Africa .
Sumaira claimed that they spoke on the phone, during which he tried to explain why he had contacted her, saying that “he and Faryal were not well together and it was a bit of a business arrangement.”
She claimed he told a 'sob story' in which he said he had retired from boxing and that Faryal was spending a lot of time in London.
Amir admitted he “regretted” messaging Sumaira, revealing he contacted her out of “boredom” but insisted he wasn't cheating as it was “just a few texts were 'yes'.
When asked if he wanted to attend therapy sessions, he said The sun: 'That question has never been asked before. But maybe I need help to stop messaging other women. I'm willing to go to therapy to stop texting women who aren't my wife.
The sportsman said Faryal was 'disgusted' when he learned he had messaged another woman, with her telling him: 'If you have a diamond at home, why do you want to mess around with rocks and stones?'
Amir admitted that his behavior was “not nice” and noted that one day his children will read about what happened, which he said will “upset” them.
Faryal posted a lengthy statement in response to her husband's text message exchanges with model Sumaira at the time.
Faryal said on Instagram that she “refuses to play out my marriage publicly” and that “after a long week of accusations, slander and harassment, I have decided that now is the time to address the situation that has arisen.”
Faryal described Sumaira's actions as a “hate campaign” and has denied that she is “responsible for Sumaira's current mental state.”
Faryal further stated that 'the whole world knows about his record' and stressed that Sumaira must have been aware that he was married when she sent him revealing photos.
Amir and Faryal have been married for ten years and have three children together: Lamaisah, nine, (left), Alayna, five, (right) and Muhammad, three