Amy Schumer Calls Out Critics "Mad” She’s Not Thinner & Prettier
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Inside Amy Schumer is a just a regular person with regular person feelings.
But, the Life & Beth star has learned to live with the constant trolling she receives on the Internet.
"I think they're mad that I'm not thinner," she said on the Feb. 22 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. "I think they're mad I'm not prettier. And that I still feel like I have a right to speak. And I think that they don't want any woman to speak. I mean, what woman has ever opened her mouth and not been like torn to shreds?"
And while the 42-year-old admitted letting it all roll off her back isn't always easy, all that matters is the love she has for herself.
"It doesn't feel good when the whole Internet's mad at you. Don't get me wrong," the Trainwreck star said. "I don't wish that on anyone if they don't deserve it, but it's been a long time that people have been coming for me, so yeah. It's just about how I'm feeling about myself."
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But, from time to time, she is compelled to clap back. Take, for instance, when Internet trolls recently criticized her appearance.
"Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face!" she wrote on Instagram Feb. 15. "I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right it is puffier than normal right now."
She chalked it up to her endometriosis, an autoimmune disease in which uterus lining grows outside of the organ.
"There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I'm okay," she continued. "I also believe a woman doesn't need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you're in."
Instead, Amy—who welcomed son Gene with husband Chris Fisher in 2019—hopes fans will instead shift their focus to season two of her show Life & Beth.
"Like every other women/person," she wrote, "some days I feel confident and good as hell and others I want to put a bag over my head. But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this tv show I created. Wrote. Starred in and directed. Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little."
Amy isn't the only celebrity to put a swift end to body shaming. Keep reading for how your favorite stars embrace their bodies.
Chrissy Teigen
"I think, in a way, we've forgotten what a regular body looks like. There are people out there who are struggling, and I'm struggling, and it's okay to come to terms with realizing it's going to be a bit of a journey. I'm not blind: I see my body, I see the difference in shape, I see that I gained weight. But I also see with those same eyes that I have a beautiful baby boy, and an amazing little girl, and I am very happy."
Jonah Hill
In February 20201, the Wolf of Wall Street star clapped back at paparazzi after photos of himself surfing were published online. "I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends," he wrote. "Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers. So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can't phase me anymore is dope. I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself."
In August 2021, he debuted a tattoo reading, "Body Love," which parodies the logo of water sports apparel company Body Glove.
Demi Lovato
"Stretch marks and extra fat...And yet I still love myself," the singer, who battled bulimia for years, wrote on Instagram in 2018. "Cellulite...and yet I still love myself."
Lovato later told E! News, "I was on Instagram and I started comparing myself to these Instagram models and I just thought to myself, someone needs to show my fans and anybody that's looking at my account that what you see isn't always what's real. And so, I decided to embrace my flaws and—I don't even like to call them flaws, it's just a part of who I am—and show the world that I'm imperfect, but that's what makes me beautiful."
In December 2020, she posted on Instagram photos showing her stretch marks outlined with glitter.
Cindy Crawford
"See? Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford."
-keeping it all the way real about the power of a good glam squad
Kate Winslet
"As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, 'I love my body.' Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, 'I am so proud of my body.' I make sure to say it to [my daughter] Mia, because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age."
Mindy Kaling
"IDK who needs to hear this but…WEAR A BIKINI IF YOU WANT TO WEAR A BIKINI. You don't have to be a size 0."
<p>Gabourey Sidibe</p>
"People always ask me, 'You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?' It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear colors that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn't have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see. Your body is your temple, it's your home, and you must decorate it."
Lena Dunham
"I feel I've made it pretty clear over the years that I don't give even the tiniest of s--ts what anyone else feels about my body. I've gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I've done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars. I've accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity—what goes up must come down and vice versa. I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented."
Emma Stone
"No matter how things look from the outside, we can all be super critical of ourselves and of our image in the mirror. I've seen articles or comments that have addressed my weight, or 'caving to pressure to be thin.' Keeping weight on is a struggle for me—especially when I'm under stress, and especially as I've gotten older....I remind myself to be kind to myself, and as slightly ridiculous as it may sound, to treat myself in the same gentle way I'd want to treat a daughter of mine. It really helps."
Meryl Streep
"For young women, I would say, don't worry so much about your weight. Girls spend way too much time thinking about that, and there are better things. For young men, and women, too, what makes you different or weird, that's your strength. Everyone tries to look a cookie-cutter kind of way and actually the people who look different are the ones who get picked up. I used to hate my nose. Now I don't. It's okay."
-on the advice she'd give aspiring actors
Viola Davis
"You know, when I was handed Annalise Keating, I said, 'She's sexy, she's mysterious, you know?' I'm used to playing women who gotta gain 40 pounds and have to wear an apron. So I said, 'Oh God, I've got to lose weight, I've got to learn how to walk like Kerry Washington in heels, you know, I've got to lose my belly.' And then I asked myself, 'Well, why do I have to do all that?' I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are, and I just recently embraced that at 51. I think my strongest power is that at ten o'clock every Thursday night, I want you to come into my world. I am not going to come into yours. You come into my world and you sit with me, my size, my hue, my age, and you sit, and you experience."
Lizzo
"When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not.' I'm just fine. I'm just me. I'm just sexy. If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave. I just think there's a double standard when it comes to women....I don't like it when people think it's hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don't like it when people are shocked that I'm doing it."
-on being annoyed that people are surprised by her confidence
Zendaya
In 2016, the star clapped back online after being accused of being a "thinspo model" for "impressionable tweens."
"Do you find this funny? I will write another paragraph to educate you aswell #youreallywannabenext?" she tweeted, later adding, "Now....everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body, and love that s--t #thickgirlswinning #skinnygirlswinning #weallwinning."
Also in 2016, Zendaya called out a magazine for photoshopping her, writing on Instagram, "These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it."
The star later said this about excessive photoshopping in a New You interview: "There is no such thing as ugly. That's a word that doesn't really enter my vocabulary. If there's any definition to being perfect, you're perfect at being yourself. No other person can be you 100 percent; no one has your fingerprint; no one has your DNA. You are you 120 percent, through and through. Whether it is through my social media or whatever, I want anyone who looks up to me to know that I go through the same problems. I have to be confident in who I am."
Jennifer Lawrence
"You have to look past it—you look how you look, and be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That's just dumb."
-on why she refuses to diet
Serena Williams
"I love that I'm a full woman and I am strong, and I'm powerful, and I'm beautiful at the same time. And there's nothing wrong like that. It's so important to look at the positives; if I get caught up looking at the negatives, it can really bring you down. I don't have time to be brought down, I've got too many things to do. I have Grand Slams to win, I have people to inspire, and that's what I'm here for."
<p>Isla Fisher</p>
"I don't even own a scale. I have two young girls, and I wouldn't want them to see me weighing myself all the time. I don't think it sends the right message....For me, so much about life is acceptance. You can look in the mirror and find a million things wrong with yourself. Or you can look in the mirror and think, I feel good, I have my health, and I'm so blessed. That's the way I choose to look at it. I don't need to be perfect. I'm doing just fine."
Amy Adams
"Being pregnant finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body—meaning that it wasn't put on this earth to look good in a swimsuit. I was like, 'Look, I can carry a baby! I'm gaining weight right, everything's going well.' And I've had that relationship ever since."
Camila Mendes
"When did being thin become more important than being healthy? I recently went to a naturopath for the first time in my life. I told her about my anxiety around food and my obsession with dieting. She phrased a pivotal question in such a way that struck a chord with me: what other things could you be thinking about if you didn't spend all your time thinking about your diet? I suddenly remembered all the activities I love that used to occupy my time. At some point in my life, I allowed my obsession with being thin to consume me, and I refused to make room in my mind for any other concerns….I'm done believing in the idea that there's a thinner, happier version of me on the other side of all the tireless effort. Your body type is subject to genetics, and while eating nutrient-dense foods and exercising regularly will make you healthier, it will not necessarily make you thinner."
Lady Gaga
"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. 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."
-responding to chatter about her Super Bowl appearance
Sam Smith
"In the past if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down," they shared about a photoshoot, in which they bared their body. "Yesterday I decided to fight the f--k back, reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn't think those things."
Ashley Graham
"I look at myself naked in the mirror and say, 'You know what, awkward butt shape? You're not gonna get higher or rounder but it's OK, because I've got Spanx for you.' Your words have so much power. Every day, if you tell yourself 'I love you,' if you give yourself one word of validation, it will change your mind."
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