Ashley Graham Is Using Cheryl Tiegs’ Comments to Change the Fashion Industry
In just the past few weeks, Ashley Graham has experienced multiple career highs: She became the first curvy model to nab a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover; she attended the Oscars red carpet as part of a fashion panel that also included Kris Jenner and Giuliana Rancic; then she jetted off to Paris, where she walked on the runway for a big-time brand. But with the success comes the haters. And one in particular — looking at you, Cheryl Tiegs — has really been a thorn in her side. But no matter, because the 28-year-old star has self-described “thick skin.”
“Cheryl Tiegs may have said what she said and it may have hurt a lot of people’s feelings,” Graham told E! News, speaking out for the first time since Tiegs, a former SI cover girl herself, made comments suggesting that selecting a full-figured woman for the cover glamorized unhealthy lifestyles. “I kind of rolled my eyes. I was like, ‘Oh, whatever, another one of these ladies.’ But what’s great is that — the fact that she said it — it means that other women think like her. And what that means is that we really need to change the industry.“
Ashley Graham walking in the H&M Studio show. (Photo: Getty Images)
Graham is leading the charge to do just that. In addition to her groundbreaking cover, on Wednesday she appeared in H&M Studio’s Paris Fashion Week show, her first non-plus-size-only casting. Other models showing off the fast-fashion brand’s Fall 2016 collection included Jourdan Dunn, Amber Valetta, Pat Cleveland, Hari Nef, and other diverse models. As Graham described it: “I’m in it with the big dogs.”
After Tiegs was criticized for her comments (in which she cited controversial Dr. Oz as her medical source), she took to social media to say sorry. “My sincere apologies to everyone I have hurt. I truly just want everyone to be healthy & happy,” she tweeted. She added, “To clarify re bodyweight. Being anorexic/bulimic/overweight all connected to health problems. I want all to be as healthy as they can.”
To that, Graham responded, “There are too many people thinking they can look at a girl my size and say that we are unhealthy. You can’t, only my doctor can!”
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