Victoria Beckham Recalls Being Forced to Weigh Herself on Live TV: ‘Horrible’
Victoria Beckham recounted being asked to weigh herself on live TV after having her son, Brooklyn, in 1999.
“Can you imagine doing that nowadays?” she said.
The startling conversation is proof of how different the concept of body image was just 20 years ago—and how far it still has to go.
Beauty standards and body positivity have come a long way since Victoria Beckham had her first son, Brooklyn, in 1999. And while they still have a long way to go, the star’s recent recollection of a talk show interview that forced her to weigh herself on live TV is startling proof of what difference a couple of decades can make.
In a new cover interview for Vogue Australia, Beckham recalled her weight being the main topic of conversation during an appearance on Britain’s TFI Friday hosted by Chris Evans. “I’d just had Brooklyn and lost a lot of weight after,” she explained. “It happened to my mum after her pregnancies. It doesn’t mean you have an eating disorder. And he made me stand on the scales to be weighed.”
Beckham wished she was joking, but she wasn’t. “Can you imagine doing that nowadays?” she added.
Proof of the awkward interaction still lives on the internet today. In the interview, Evans asked Beckham about her postpartum fitness routine. “A lot of girls want to know, because you look fantastic again, how did you get back to your shape after birth?” he said, to which she responded: “I’m really lazy. I don’t go down to the gym or anything.”
But it didn’t stop there. Evans then asked if her weight was “back to normal,” but a verbal answer wasn’t enough. “Can I check, do you mind?” he asked, pulling a scale out from behind his desk. Beckham, clearly frazzled, hesitantly stood. “This is horrible,” she said, before stepping on the scale. “Eight stones [112 lbs.] not bad at all, is it?” Evans quipped.
Unfortunately, that moment was one of many that publicly scrutinized Beckham’s body throughout her career. The mom of four spent extended time in the spotlight as Posh Spice of The Spice Girls, which especially heightened the focus on her looks.
“I’ve had ‘Porky Posh,’ I’ve had ‘Skeletal Posh.’ After I had Brooklyn, there was a picture pointing to every single part of my body where I had to focus on losing the weight from,” she told Vogue Australia.
Now, at 48, Beckham is glad to see conversations around beauty and body image shifting toward acceptance and individuality—and she’s hopeful that they’re, slowly but surely, creating a better world for her 10-year-old daughter, Harper, to grow up in.
In a May interview with Grazia, she recalled taking her daughter Harper to Miami, where women of all sizes confidently strutted the beach in swimwear. “As a mother, I loved that Harper was around women who were really celebrating their curves and enjoying how they look,” she said, later adding: “It’s not about being a certain size. It’s about knowing who you are and being happy with who you are.”
Now that’s a concept we can get behind!
If you believe you are struggling with an eating disorder and need support, call the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at (800) 931-2237. You can text HOME to 741741 to message with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free.
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