Living in the public eye can be a trying task, with people constantly putting their input on Hollywood stars’ relationships, outfits and often, political views. In a world as connected as ours it’s never been easier for people to provide unwarranted (and unwelcome) commentary on another person’s body, in particular.
Because they are at the forefront, celebrities tend to take the brunt of it. But, thankfully the narrative is changing – and many are using their platform to share the rightful and long overdue message – all bodies are beautiful. When body-shamed, the below celebrities have used the opportunity to educate others on why, under no circumstance, it’s okay to comment on the way someone looks.
Scroll down to see the epic clapbacks these celebs offered up to body-shamers.
Lizzo
Forever the queen of speaking her mind, Lizzo posted a video to TikTok to call out body shamers.
“Hey, so I’ve been working out consistently for the last five years, and it may come as a surprise to some of y’all that I’m not working out to have your ideal body type,” the video footage said, which showed footage from her workouts. “I’m working out to have my ideal body type, and you know what type that is? None of your fucking business, because I am beautiful, I am strong, I do my job and I stay on my job.”
“So next time you wanna come to somebody and judge them, whether they drink kale smoothies or eat McDonald’s or work out or not work out, how about you look at your own fucking self and worry about your own goddamn body.”
The caption read, “If you’re not a fat shamer…keep scrolling… ok now that all the fat shamers are here.”
Chrissy Teigen
Internet queen of the clapback, Chrissy Teigen, served yet another blistering takedown in response to trolls who body-shamed her on Twitter. Taking to the social platform, the model captioned a video of herself in a black swimsuit: “Don’t get too trapped. I never post thirst traps so here I am trapping you with thirst.”
After Chrissy uploaded the footage, the trolls descended, delivering a barrage of commentary. She expertly responded, “Everyone used to….surgically enhanced curves. I’ve been a square my whole life and let me tell you, it’s paid off nicely in many ways!”
Liz Cambage
Australian basketball star Liz Cambage, a two-time Olympian, WNBA All-Star and record-holder, was forced to hit back against body-shaming after a basketball game in May 2021, in which the coach of the competing team made disrespectful and shameful comments about her weight.
“If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I will never let a man disrespect me. Ever. Ever. Ever,” she said. “To the coach of Connecticut, I’m sorry little sir man I do not know your name, but the next time you try to call out a referee trying to get a call being like, ‘Come on, she 300 pounds,’ I’m going to need you to get it right, baby, because I’m 6-8, I’m weighing, I just double-checked because I love to be correct and give facts, I’m weighing 235 pounds and I’m really, very proud of being a big b*tch, a big buddy, big Benz baby. So, don’t ever try to disrespect me or another woman in the league.”
Celine Dion
The 51-year-old made news recently with fans voicing their concerns for her weight, accusing the singer of being “too skinny”. Dion addressed the online criticism in an interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada, explaining: “You can’t please everyone”.
“Is there anything wrong about my body? I’ve always been very thin,” she explained. “I do ballet. I do a lot of stretching and I work out because it helps my mind, body and soul.”
Going on to talk about the bullying comments, she continued: “If you don’t want to be criticised, you are in the wrong place. I take what’s good for me. I leave behind what is not good for me. I let my management take care of that, and if it hurts anyone, they will take care of that. And I need to focus on what’s right for me, how I feel and, last but not least, you can’t please everybody.”
Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham has long been an advocate of body positivity. On Instagram, she recalled a time that someone once called her thighs “cellulite city”, to which she responded: “But I now realize these thighs tell a story of victory and courage.” Graham has since released a line of size-inclusive swimwear with Swimsuits for All, and continues to push for the normalisation of all body types.
Demi Lovato
No stranger to celebrating her body, Demi Lovato once told Glamour: “If somebody calls me fat, even in a vulnerable moment, I laugh to myself and think, I’m doing everything I can, so there’s nothing I can do about it,” adding, “I don’t have a six-pack. Maybe I don’t even want a six-pack. It doesn’t sound very appealing.”
Jennifer Lawrence
The Hunger Games actress, who regularly speaks on her love of fried food and cocktails, always sticks to her guns when it comes to people talking about her body. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, the actress recalled a time someone told her to lose weight, “If anybody even tries to whisper the word ‘diet,’ I’m like, ‘You can go fuck yourself.’”
Lady Gaga
Despite Lady Gaga’s performance of the National Anthem at the 2017 Super Bowl being one of the best in history, people decided to focus on her weight. In response, she posted a photo on Instagram with a message for everyone surrounding the controversy, captioning the photo: “I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too.”
The singer continued: “No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions.”
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston’s alleged “pregnancy” has been on the front of tabloids for over two decades, so it’s unsurprising that prior to getting Instagram the actress wrote a powerful essay in The Huffington Post saying she was “fed up”. “For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up. I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of ‘journalism,’ the ‘First Amendment’ and ‘celebrity news,’” she wrote.
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez opened up about the body-shaming she went through during her health issues, revealing what it was like having people attack her online. “I experienced [body shaming] with my weight fluctuation for the first time,” she told Raquelle Stevens for her podcast Giving Back Generation. “I have lupus and deal with kidney issues and high blood pressure, so I deal with a lot of health issues, and for me, that’s when I really started noticing more of the body-image stuff.”
The singer and actress added her weight fluctuates for various health-related reasons, explaining, “It depends on even the month, to be honest, so for me, I really noticed when people started attacking me for that.”
Ruby Rose
After posting a photo to her Instagram, body-shamers told Rose she was “too skinny “and “needed to eat a burger.” The Orange is the New Black star wrote a response on her Instagram stories, “Body shaming SHITS me. I hate it because it worries fans or shames them. I hate it because it uses no logic and basically is just someone projecting their experience and expectations on others.”
Zendaya
After people began taking to social media to comment on her body, Zendaya took to Twitter to point out that everyone was worth celebrating. “everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body, and love that sh*t😘 #thickgirlswinning #skinnygirlswinning #weallwinning”
Adele
Adele’s body has been a controversial topic of late. But, the singer has never tolerated body-shaming – from shutting down interviewers who ask about her weight to remind you that her size does not affect her “health or sex life”. As she previously told People, “I’ve never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.”
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