Celebrities are constantly receiving attention for their weight, and
even the slightest weight gain is met with a humongous amount of
(usually negative) publicity. Paparazzi will find photographs taken at
the most unflattering angles possible and plaster them all over the
tabloids, making it seem like a certain celeb has quadrupled in size
when perhaps they just wore an unflattering outfit or were a bit bloated
that day.
It’s a toxic atmosphere and it can be easy to want to run and hide
when you’re fat shamed, particularly if you’re a celebrity who has been
called out so publicly. It’s never nice to hear someone trashing your
body, particularly if you’re already feeling somewhat insecure, as many
women are.
Some celebrities seem to respond to fat shaming early in their career
by dieting down to a size 0 and holding onto their skinny frames with a
death grip. And then there’s the ladies who make up this list. Ladies
who stepped up when they were fat shamed and said it wasn’t okay to
judge people solely on their appearance, that they were worth more than
just their dress size. They used their star power to make their voices
heard. And everyone cheered.
Here are 15 amazing celebrity responses to fat shaming.
15. Kelly Clarkson
With a newly formed little family unit and a still strong music career,
Kelly Clarkson’s doing pretty well lately. However, in February of 2015,
a British journalist by the name of Katie Hopkins saw Clarkson on a
television appearance and tweeted out “Jesus, what happened to Kelly
Clarkson? Did she eat all of her backing singers?” Clarkson wasn’t upset
by the harsh comment whatsoever. As she told
Heat, “I’ve just
never cared what people think. It’s more if I’m happy and confident and
feeling good, that’s always been my thing. And more so now, since having
a family – I don’t seek out any other acceptance.” Basically, she told
Hopkins that her comment meant literally nothing to her and that she
didn’t need the acceptance of some random journalist who didn’t have a
tenth of the success she did.
14. Rebel Wilson
Since she burst onto the scene and started making audiences around the
world crack up, Rebel Wilson has been receiving comments about her
weight. Sure, she might not be a size 2, but her comedic skills are on
point and she’s slaying every role she gets. However, don’t think that
she’s staying up at night thinking about all those fat-shaming comments
she’s gotten. Her response to the shamers, which she explained to
Extra,
is simple. “I don’t really care what I look like that much, and I think
women out there should just be happy with the way they look.’
13. Demi Lovato
it’s bad enough to fat shame a regular celebrity, but to shame someone
about their weight when they’ve literally had to receive treatment for
an eating disorder? That’s just completely egregious. At the 2011 MTV
VMAs, pop superstar Demi Lovato showed up looking great in a sparkly
dress. Not everyone seemed to think so, however, and comments started
pouring in about her weight – despite the fact that she just got out of
treatment for bulimia! Thankfully, Lovato’s time in treatment seemed to
have strengthened her outlook and she merely fired back “I’ve gained
weight. Get over it. That’s what happens when you get out of treatment
for an eating disorder. I’m healthy and happy, and if you’re hating on
my weight, you obviously aren’t.” Go, girl.
12. Kim Kardashian
It’s completely shocking to see what people think is okay to criticize.
When Kim Kardashian was pregnant with North, she received a ton of fat
shaming comments due to her weight gain – you know, the weight she
gained while pregnant like you’re supposed to. Luckily, this
strong mama didn’t let the haters get her down, and she fired back on
twitter. “Making fun of me pregnant and making fun of me trying to lose
weight now, shame on you,” she commented. “I’m not perfect but I will
never conform to your skinny standards, sorry! Don’t give young girls a
complex.” Anyone would agree that, throughout her pregnancy, she still
looked super chic and gorgeous, and she’s in an entertainment industry
power couple with another adorable baby on the way, so we’re pretty sure
she had the last laugh.
11. Jessica Simpson
In a 2009 performance, pop star Jessica Simpson wore a pair of high
waisted jeans that were perhaps not the most flattering garment on her
body. However, the reaction that they received was completely ridiculous
– she got fat shamed almost immediately, and people still comment on
those jeans to this day, over five years later. Simpson used the fat
shaming to bring attention to the truly ridiculous way that the press
criticize female stars. As she said, “what’s more unbelievable is tha
the press could create something like that out of a pair of jeans. What
woman wants to be brought down for wearing a pair of jeans?”
10. Pink
Pink is known for her ultra-toned physique, so when she turned up to a
cancer benefit looking the slightest bit softer than she typically does,
the world noticed – and, unfortunately, proceeded to fat shame her. She
responded in basically the most badass, classy way you possible could.
Her tweet began by bringing attention to the reason she was at the
event, to support a friend, Dr. Maggie DiNome, who does work in cancer
research. She went on to address the fat shaming saying “I am perfectly
fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body
is having some much deserved time off.”
9. Lily Allen
Lily Allen is another celeb who got fat shamed by British journalist
Katie Hopkins, who is quickly getting the reputation of a catty woman
who must have nothing better going on in her own life if she’s
constantly making fat shaming successful singers. When speaking with Heat,
Hopkins commented on the state of Allen’s career and physique, saying
that “she removed herself from the spotlight to become a mother, [which]
largely involved gaining two stone and looking pretty hideous.” Um,
excuse me? Allen fired back, revealing the real reason behind her slight
weight gain – she was having a lot of trouble with her pregnancies. “I
wasn’t exercising because I didn’t want to take any risks and, funnily
enough, the survival of my children felt more important than being
thin.”
8. Gabourey Sidibe
Talented actress Gabourey Sidibe showed up on the Golden Globes red
carpet, having picked out a dress she loved. Due to her size, many
immediately began critiquing the look and fat-shaming her mercilessly.
Sidibe responded in a way that made all her fans laugh: “To people
making mean comments about my GG pics, I mos def cried about it on that
private jet on my way to my dream job last night.” That’s right – she
basically fired back in the best way, saying that she was too successful
to worry about the petty comments people were making about her
appearance.
7. Alyssa Milano
Comedian Jay Mohr took things to a totally distasteful level when he
shamed actress Alyssa Milano about her weight shortly after she gave
birth, essentially implying that she totally gave up and let herself go
after… you know, producing a human being. Milano could have easily fired
back something sarcastic and cut him down a few pegs, but she decided
to kill him with class instead, tweeting “so sorry you felt the need to
publicly fat-shame me. Be well and God Bless. Please send my love to
your beautiful wife.” Mohr apologized, but the damage had already been
done at that point, and at the end of the day, you have to respect the
hell out of Milano’s classy response.
6. Sarah Millican
British comedian Sarah Millican is one of the funniest women in the
business, and her success led to an invite to the BAFTA awards. She
picked out a dress that she loved, strutted her stuff on the red carpet,
and pretty much immediately began receiving tweets about her
appearance. Some merely commented negatively about the dress, but she
also received many comments about her weight. Millican addressed the
issue by writing an article in the Radio Times – it’s a
phenomenal piece that describes her entire process of getting ready,
picking the dress, just being overwhelmingly excited about being honored
with a nomination, and then having it all torn down by the negative
comments that people feel it’s okay to make. She closed with an
absolutely brilliant statement, saying that “I thought I had been
invited to such an illustrious event because I am good at my job.” You
said it, girl.
5. Adele
Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld may have gotten a skewed perspective after
working around so many pin thin models, as he critiqued British star
Adele for her weight, saying “she is a little too fat, but she has a
beautiful face and a divine voice.” Karl, adding a few compliments to an
offensive, negative statement doesn’t make it any better. Adele
responded by saying “I’ve never wanted to be a skinny mini with my tits
out. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.”
Sorry, Karl – she’s probably just at home, crying over her countless
Grammy awards and hugely successful career. She’ll totally be bothered
by your fat shaming another day.
4. Sam Smith
This example proves that it’s not always just women who are fat shamed –
even male celebs can experience the vitriol that is fat shaming. Howard
Stern, who is known for his offensive statements, talked about Smith on
his radio show and called him a “fat ugly mother$%#@.” Smith went on to
win an armful of awards at the Grammys a few weeks after that incident,
and he responded by sending out a hugely positive message during his
acceptance speech. He basically said that he started to earn success
once he started to love and accept his body and his self rather than
trying to lose weight and change who he was. That’s the kind of message
stars should be putting out there.
3. Kristen Bell
Like many female celebrities, Kristen Bell decided to have children and
became pregnant when she was already a huge star – which meant that the
paparazzi followed her every step of the way. Rather than commenting
about her talent, many people fat-shamed Bell for gaining weight –
again, during pregnancy, when you’re supposed to. Bell addressed the negativity in a 2013 interview with Redbook and
basically said that fat shaming didn’t affect her anymore. To quote the
star herself, “I am not a woman whose self-worth comes from her dress
size.” She has an adorable family and a career that has remained strong
over the years, so she’s doing alright. Sorry, haters.
2. Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling is hugely successful and incredibly at what she does – she’s
gone from an actress to a writer, director, and creator of her very own
show. She’s incredibly inspiring, but unfortunately, a lot of the
attention she gets focuses on how she’s perhaps slightly larger than the
average size 0 starlet. She gets constantly bombarded with fat shaming
in disguise, comments about how it’s “courageous” for her to make
certain fashion choices. Because, you know, if you’re not a size 0 you
should be wearing a tarp all the time, according to the press. She was
having none of it, and commented that it’s garbage for people to make
those comments, saying “I run and work out. It takes a lot of effort to
look like a normal woman.”
1. Tyra Banks
In 2007, Tyra Banks had had enough of fat shaming. Paparazzi snapped some
less than flattering photos of the supermodel in her bathing suit during
a trip to the beach and she got shamed for not looking Sports Illustrated
swimsuit ready, with some tabloids calling her “Thigh-ra Banks.” It was
the straw that broke the camel’s back, and she responded with a rant
that absolutely needs to be watched. She ended with one of the best
responses to fat shaming ever, a simple one liner: “kiss my fat a$s!”
The audience cheered. Everyone watching at home cheered. If you watch
the video, you’ll probably cheer. All we can say is: yes, girl. Yes. You
go.
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