26 Times Celebs Caught Someone Criticizing Their Body And Called Them Out
Criticizing other people's bodies — especially those of famous women — has long been normalized in Hollywood, whether it's a public takedown in the press or a private conversation on set. The act of criticizing every perceived "imperfection" has carried over to social media, where anyone can take shots at someone else's appearance.
However, in recent years, people in the spotlight have also begun normalizing bringing attention to the body shaming they experience. By calling out this unnecessary criticism, they remind everyone that no one needs to fit into a preconceived "beauty standard" to be "good enough."
Here are 26 times celebs and influencers called out criticism of their bodies:
1.After Selena Gomez walked the red carpet at the 2023 Golden Globes, she was flooded with a lot of mean online comments about her body. Appearing to respond on Instagram Live, she jokingly asked her little sister Gracie, "I'm a little bit big right now because I enjoyed myself during the holidays...right?"
Playing along, Gracie agreed, causing Selena to burst out laughing.
2.Similarly, after talking about her recent fast-food order on her TikTok stories, Selena Gomez immediately added a message for the incoming body-shamers — "But honestly, I don't care about my weight because people bitch about it anyway."
She added, "Bitch, I am perfect the way I am. Moral of the story? Bye."
3.In a Twitter video, Lizzo said that "the discourse around bodies is tired," then described the paradoxical comments she's received, such as criticism for losing weight, then criticism for gaining weight. She said, "Do you see the delusion?"
She added, "Do we realize that artists are not here to fit into your beauty standard? Artists are here to make art, and this body is art."
4.After commenters falsely accused TikToker Mikayla Nogueira of editing her body in videos, she shared a new TikTok called "How to be Fabulously Fat." In the video, she showed her body normally, then demonstrated how she only used shapewear — not digital alterations — for a specific style of dress.
She said, "This is my body, which I am totally happy with. I'm actually in love with my body, which I never used to be able to say. ... In the video in question, I don't look anything like this obviously. But that is because I am wearing two pairs of Spanx."
5.In a since-deleted tweet, writer Julie Klausner called Zendaya "a thinspo model for your impressionable tweens," then continued to rant about her body type. In a quote tweet referencing her eloquent response to Giuliana Rancic's criticism of her locs, Zendaya said, "Do you find this funny? I will write another paragraph to educate you as well."
In a follow-up tweet, she added, "Now....everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body, and love that shit."
6.After the 2014 Golden Globes, Gabourey Sidibe tweeted, "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."
7.The year Titanic turned 25, Kate Winslet described how she wished she would've responded to fans and journalists who said she was "too fat" for Jack to fit on the door with Rose and survive. She said, "If I could turn back the clock, I would've used my voice in a completely different way."
She told the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, "I would have absolutely said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, 'Don't you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman, my body is changing, I'm figuring it out, I'm deeply insecure, I'm terrified, don't make this any harder than it already is.' That’s bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive, I would say."
8.When Kumail Nanjiani was body-shamed over paparazzi pictures showing the physical transformation he undertook for Eternals, and said hearing "a bunch of people reaffirming [his] own darkest thoughts about [himself] was very difficult."
He told Vulture, "It’s very easy to get obsessed with that number on the scale. It’s a tough thing. It's deceiving. You become obsessed with it. I certainly have, and for me, it’s not great to weigh myself every day. ... If I could change something, I would love to not have to think about that."
9.After a tweet criticizing her appearance went viral, Sydney Sweeney addressed it on Instagram Live and broke down in tears. She said, "Apparently, I am trending on Twitter right now for being ugly. I would never actually do this, ever, but I think it's really important for people to see how words actually affect people."
She continued, "I know everyone says you can't read things, you shouldn't read things, but I'm a fucking person."
10.In response to criticism of her physique, Simone Biles tweeted, "You all can judge my body all you want, but at the end of the day, it's MY body. I love it & I’m comfortable in my skin."
11.When a tabloid wrote a headline stating that Demi Lovato "appears to have a fuller figure," they shared it to their Instagram story alongside an important message — "I am more than my weight."
In follow-up posts, she expressed anger at outlets thinking "it's okay to write headlines about people's body shapes" and called the article "toxic."
The writer of the article apologized to Demi directly, and they accepted.
On her story, she added, "Change is made [by] raising your voice, speaking your truth, and spreading love."
12.On Instagram, Nicola Coughlan requested that "if you have an opinion about [her] body, please, please don’t share it with [her]."
13.Similarly, Jonah Hill asked fans to refrain from commenting on his body, whether good or bad, because "it's not helpful and doesn't feel good."
14.After making her Euphoria debut, actor Chloe Cherry found it "crazy how many people talk about [her] lips being so big" because she hadn't been criticized for them before she was on TV. The number of headlines and comments she saw about her lips felt "surreal."
She told Variety, "It's nuts because you have to realize that I got those lips at some point in my life, and nobody reacted that way — at least not to my face. ... So, it's weird to see memes and stuff about it because these topics of conversation are on my body, and I didn't totally comprehend what the big deal was."
15.While Natalie Portman was filming Thor: Love and Thunder, paparazzi photos sparked tabloid speculation that she was pregnant. Refuting the headlines on her Instagram story, she wrote, "Apparently, it's still OK in 2021 for anyone to speculate and comment on a woman's body shape whenever they want? Do better."
16.Sharing an un-retouched vacation picture on Instagram, Hilary Duff wrote, "Since websites and magazines love to share 'celeb flaws' — well I have them!"
"Ladies, lets be proud of what we've got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed," she said.
17.After musician and entrepreneur Cori Broadus received an Instagram DM telling her she should get cosmetic work done, she took them to task on her story. She said, "Embrace what you got, and shut the fuck up."
She also said, "Like, [why] y’all b so miserable on here. Like, I don’t know what I'm suppose to do; my shit just big as fuck. Y'all be annoying on here. [sic]"
18.During a photoshoot, Samira Wiley was wearing an outfit that "showed a bit of midriff" when, completely unprompted, someone on set told her, "Oh, don't worry. We can fix that in post."
She told People, "I can't imagine what all of these young girls who are just looking at these magazines, and their perception is that this is reality, and it's not,"
19.More than 20 years after her role in Coyote Ugly, Melanie Lynskey alleged that she was continuously body-shamed on set, put on a "regimen" to lose weight, and made to wear "a lot of Spanx." Now that she's older, she feels "very protective" of the younger women on set.
She told the Hollywood Reporter, "Just the feedback was constantly like, 'You’re not beautiful. You’re not beautiful.' In your early 20s, so much of it is about beauty, and how people respond to you, and do people want to fuck you? Do people think you’re their best friend?"
20.When Vin Diesel was criticized for having a "dad bod," he told Good Morning America that, while body-shaming is wrong, he "would rather it come to [him] than somebody else" because he "can take it."
"I’m not trying to be in super shape all of the time. I’m trying to master my craft of making films," he said.
21.After a ranch turned away model and influencer Remi Bader from horseback riding because of her weight, a teenage employee made a TikTok saying, "When you're not a fat bitch, you can ride [here]." Duetting the video, Remi wrote, "Imagine this being Deep Hallow Ranch's response to your experience."
In response, the ranch released this statement: "It has come to our attention that a TikTok video was posted regarding the ranch, and a teenage employee posted a response that in no way represents nor is aligned with the views that the owners of the ranch hold. We would like to apologize to anyone who this offended, and we do not condone or agree with any part of that employee's video."
Remi told People, "I truly feel that every time I get into a better headspace and feel a boost of confidence, it gets shut right back down with experiences like this. It's sad the words of others can do that, and I wish it didn't affect me, but it has become normal for me to have to accept the body-shaming and experience daily from social media and in person, and it really just gets exhausting. I will never understand why my size could actually bother someone so much. I really never will."
22.When Bebe Rexha posted a picture of her performing on Instagram, the comments were filled with cruel statements about her weight. In response, she tweeted, "I don't give two shits about what people think about my weight. I care about what I think about my weight. [sic]"
She added, "Unless you are completely perfect, you have no fuckin' right to talk about anybody else’s body. The hate you breed that stems from insecurity don’t look pretty on you. [sic]"
23.On Instagram, Busy Philipps shared a picture of her favorite morning workout routine, and a commenter wrote, "Ughhhh, you're rolls are showing. [sic]" She replied, "I feel like a man of your age should know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE."
She continued, "YOU'RE is an abbreviation for YOU ARE, as in YOU'RE CLEARLY AN ASSHOLE BODY-SHAMING LOSER."
24.When TMZ asked Jason Momoa if he was offended by comments saying he has a "dad bod," he replied, "No, not at all."
He joked, "Tell TMZ I'll show you my dad bod soon."
25.When Jameela Jamil was at the gym, a stranger came up to her out of the blue and gave her his opinion of how she could "improve" her body. Calling him out on Twitter, she wrote, "When I told him I was happy with my body, he looked both surprised and slightly sorry for me. Never walk up to someone and tell them how much better they could look. You're not being nice, you're shaming them for the way they currently look. You're also being extremely weird."
"He essentially walked up to me and body-shamed me in the middle of the gym. Don't do that. Don't walk up to someone and impose your belief of what you think they should look like onto them. Don't do that to women, don't do that to men, don't do that to anyone, ever," she said.
26.And finally, after a bunch of tabloids published a picture of Tyra Banks wearing a swimsuit under headlines like "Thigh-ra Banks," she wore the same swimsuit on her talkshow. Calling them out, she said, "If I had lower self esteem, I would probably be starving myself right now. And that is exactly what is happening to other women in this country. ... Some whose names you know, and some whose names you don't."
She ended by telling critics to "kiss [her] fat ass."
