Valerie Bertinelli Responds to Critics Accusing Her of Promoting the Diet Industry

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• Valerie Bertinelli is responding to criticism of her work as a Jenny Craig spokesperson in the 2010s.

• The criticism comes after the former Hot in Cleveland and One Day at a Time actress posted an emotional Instagram video last week responding to body-shaming comments about her weight.

• "I have been buying into the diet industry my whole life and then I became part of the problem, so here I am today receiving the karma of my actions," she shared in a response on Twitter.

Editors’ Note: This article contains discussion of weight loss, and mentions calories, pounds, and/or other terms and external measures that people trying to recover from disordered eating or eating disorders may be seeking to avoid.

Valerie Bertinelli is responding directly to social media users once more after being accused of "helping to create the problem" largely associated with diet culture beliefs and the weight-loss industry as a whole.

Just last week, the 61-year-old Food Network host and forthcoming self-help memoir author tearfully responded to a body-shaming comment in an Instagram post. In the video clip, she pleaded with followers to have more empathy when discussing body image. "You're not being helpful… Because when you see somebody who has put some weight on, my first thought is, 'That person is obviously going through some things.'"

Her emotional speech garnered an outpouring of support from fans and fellow celebrities, with nods from The Pioneer Woman's Ree Drummond to songstress Demi Lovato, who encouraged her to share more about her story.

"We all could use a little more kindness and patience and grace, because we just never know what someone else is going through. So here it is. Not deleting. Owning it," Valerie shared in a follow-up video over the weekend.

A few viewers couldn't find compassion for Valerie and her message, however, focusing on her public work in the late 2000s and early 2010s. A thread of criticism has emerged on social media as Valerie's current outspoken support for general body positivity is preceded by her time as a spokesperson for the weight-loss program Jenny Craig. The former One Day at a Time teen star had promoted the brand for upwards of six years, having famously showcased a 47-pound weight loss total on the cover of People magazine in 2009.

"Sorry Valerie Bertinelli," one Twitter user said. "You spent decades telling the rest of us to get thin, shilled weight loss shakes, potions & snake oil & NOW wanna be a body shaming warrior? You don’t get to be a victim when you helped create the problem. Grow up if you can’t take the heat."

On Saturday, Valerie responded to the user directly and explained that she wasn't seeking to skirt over her past but to share honest emotions about how she feels now. She also expressed regret about her past work in the diet industry.

"Somehow I don’t think you’re really sorry, but, let me respond anyway. I’m not a victim. I can take the heat," Valerie said. "I made the video so I could get my feelings out instead of squashing them down and eating them, which is what I usually do."

"Yes, I spent 6 years 'shilling' for Jenny Craig," she added. "I have been buying into the diet industry my whole life and then I became part of the problem, so here I am today receiving the karma of my actions."

Valerie has previously shared that her newfound stance on body positivity and self-love hadn't come easy — in fact, much of her growth occurred after her 60th birthday. "Food isn't the enemy, it's the way I have abused it in my life by eating the wrong things, eating emotionally, or eating unconsciously," Valerie told Good Housekeeping in 2020.

"Even at 60, I'm still trying to figure out what my body likes and what it doesn't like, but I have to stay conscious," she then added. "I don't want to feel shame all the time for having extra weight on my body — and I don't think I should be made to feel shameful. Because I am still a lovable, kind person, no matter what I weigh."

These days, Valerie is still focused on practicing a more holistic approach to wellness and has been busy sharing her journey with Food Network viewers as well as on Today show segments, amid other projects. Almost a full year after the death of her ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, she's gearing up to release a new book in early 2022 called Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today. Valerie has spent significant time reflecting on past trauma as a young television star, and it's clear that she's had even more to overcome this year amidst the pandemic in her role as a mother to son Wolfie.

Speaking to her critics on Twitter, Valerie had a final message: "You can go ahead and judge all you like. However, I can warn you, from experience, that kind of karma doesn't feel great either."

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