“My body is something I will NEVER apologize for.”
1. Selena Gomez
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Throughout 2015, the singer dealt with constant body shaming. On one of her Instagram posts, a commenter wrote, “You need to work out! Please stop eating junk food.” In a second comment, they continued, “She’s an actress; she needs to tone her body. In the business, sadly, the image — it’s important.”
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In late 2015, she revealed she has lupus and underwent various treatments, including chemotherapy, for it.
Selena replied, “You’re disgusting. I’m IN the business, and I could care less about what ‘they’ or you say I should look like. I don’t need to do anything other than love myself, [and] take care of my work, fans, family, and friends.”
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2. Lady Gaga
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After the singer killed it at the 2017 Super Bowl, she faced tons of criticism online over her stomach.
Kevin Mazur / WireImage / Getty Images
She addressed that nonsense with a beautiful Instagram post. “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.”
3. Ariana Grande
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In 2015, some loser wrote in a now-deleted tweet, “Got asked if I’d prefer Ariel Winter or Ariana Grande lol. It would definitely be Ariel. Curves are sexy. Sticks aren’t.”
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The singer responded to the skinny shaming on Twitter, writing, “We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy! You know what is NOT sexy? Misogyny, objectifying, labeling, comparing, and body shaming!”
here we go again…. Sure I’m not the only 1 feeling this way today!! in case you need a reminder, you’re beautiful
Ariana Grande / Twitter: @ArianaGrande
4. Tyra Banks
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In 2007, photos of the supermodel in a bikini were plastered across the tabloids. Articles mocked her weight with headlines like “Thigh-ra Banks” and “America’s Next Top Waddle.”
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Soon after, she addressed the fat shaming on an episode of The Tyra Banks Show. “To all of you that have something nasty to say about me or other women that are built like me…I have one thing to say to you: Kiss my fat ass!”
5. Ashley Graham
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In 2016, the model made an Instagram post calling out someone who’d called her thighs “cellulite city.”
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“I now realize these thighs tell a story of victory and courage. I will not let others dictate what they think my body should look like for their own comfort, and neither should you. #beautybeyondsize #effyourbeautystandards,” she wrote.
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6. Kelly Clarkson
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In 2015, British TV personality Katie Hopkins wrote now-deleted tweets fat shaming the singer. In the first, she wrote, “Jesus, what happened to Kelly Clarkson? Did she eat all of her backing singers?” In the second, she said, “Darling, if you had a baby a year ago, that is not baby weight. It is fat. Quit calling it cute names to make yourself feel better.”
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During an interview with Heat, Kelly responded to Katie’s cruel words. “She tweeted something nasty about me? That’s because she doesn’t know me. I’m awesome! It doesn’t bother me.”
Axelle / FilmMagic / Getty Images
“I’ve just never cared what people think,” she continued. “It’s more if I’m happy, and I’m confident and feeling good; that’s always been my thing. And more so now, since having a family. I don’t seek out any other acceptance.”
7. Lily Allen
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The same Katie Hopkins also made disparaging remarks about Lily’s post-pregnancy body. During an interview with Heat, Katie said that becoming a mother for Lily Allen “largely involved gaining two stone and looking pretty hideous.”
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Lily responded in a series of tweets, “Yes, after tragically losing a child so late into my pregnancy, I may have gained a few pounds. I am one of many that find comfort in food. The two pregnancies that followed were terrifying because of what had happened before, and I was pretty much on bed-rest for 20 months.”
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“I wasn’t exercising because I didn’t want to take any risks, and, funnily enough, the survival of my children felt more important than being thin.”
Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Images
“Oh, and whilst ‘weighing me up’ [and] fat shaming, you were a stone out. I gained 3, not 2. And hey look, I’m on the cover of Elle this month!” she concluded.
8. Simone Biles
Jamie Squire / Getty Images
In 2016, the Olympic superstar tweeted this picture of herself. Some commenters mocked her appearance, with one now-suspended man writing, “Your back has more muscle than mine does.”
Simone Biles / Twitter: @Simone_Biles
Simone quickly responded, “You can judge my body all you want, but at the end of the day, it’s MY body. I love it, and I’m comfortable in my skin.”
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
Simone Biles / Twitter: @Simone_Biles
9. Sarah Hyland
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In 2017, the actor received a wave of hateful comments on social media telling her “to eat a burger” and that her head was “bigger than her body.”
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Sarah suffers from kidney dysplasia, which means her kidneys did not develop normally in the womb. In a 2018 interview with Self, she revealed that her body began rejecting her first kidney transplant toward the end of 2016. She started dialysis, which led to a significant weight drop, and she got a second kidney transplant in 2017.
In a long message shared on Twitter, she wrote, “I am not a fan of ‘being skinny.’ Which many of you have told me that I am too much of. ‘Eat a burger.’ ‘Your head is bigger than your body, and that’s disgusting.’ And you’re right! I should eat a burger! ‘Cause they’re fucking delicious!…but considering I’ve basically been on bedrest for the past few months, I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass. My circumstances have put me in a place where I’m not in control of what my body looks like.”
Sarah Hyland / Twitter: @Sarah_Hyland
“My self-confidence is not rendered from your comments. Because I will always be too fat. I will always be too skinny. I will never have enough curves to be called a woman. And I will always be a slut for wearing a push-up bra. Love the you you set out to be.”
Sarah Hyland / Twitter: @Sarah_Hyland
10. Lizzo
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In 2020, a family on TikTok received a negative comment that read, “Your son really needs to go and at least exercise, he’s gonna be the next Lizzo if he doesn’t.”
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Lizzo shared a TikTok video reacting to the happy family with the perfect caption to address the internet troll. “Oh, you mean the next million dollar dealin’, cover of Vogue havin’, 3x Grammy Award winning icon, actress, activist, with a perfect ass?”
Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Pandora
11. Lili Reinhart
John Shearer / Getty Images
In 2018, a photo of the Riverdale star made its way around social media, with many people saying that she looked pregnant.
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The actor addressed the chatter through a series of posts on her Instagram story. “This is just my body. And sometimes, I’m bloated. Sometimes, an unflattering photo is taken of me. Sometimes, I go through periods of time where I gain weight. My body is something I will NEVER apologize for.”
Jean Baptiste Lacroix / Getty Images
“My body will constantly go through change. And so will yours. And that’s fine. So let’s not put so much time and effort into caring about a stranger’s figure,” she concluded.
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic / Getty Images
12. Melissa McCarthy
Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Diane von Furstenberg
In an Observer review of Melissa’s 2013 movie Identity Thief, critic Rex Reed called her “tractor-sized.”
Gregg Deguire / WireImage / Getty Images
The actor told the New York Times, “I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate. I just thought, that’s someone who’s in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids, who are mooning me and singing me songs.”
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13. Bebe Rexha
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic / Getty Images
In 2019, the singer shared a now-deleted picture on Instagram of herself performing. The comment section quickly filled with criticism over her weight, with one person calling her “tubby.”
Steven Ferdman / Getty Images
Bebe responded with a series of Tweets. “To all the people tweeting mean things to me about my weight, you just want a response, and you will not get it.”
To all the people tweeting mean things to me about my weight you just want a response and you will not get it.
Bebe Rexha / Twitter: @BebeRexha
“Unless you are completely perfect, you have no fuckin’ right to talk about anybody else’s body,” she continued.
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.
Bebe Rexha / Twitter: @BebeRexha
“I don’t give two shits about what people think about my weight. I care about what I think about my weight,” she concluded.
I don’t give a two shits about what people think about my weight. I care about what I think about my weight.
Bebe Rexha / Twitter: @BebeRexha
14. Jameela Jamil
Gregg Deguire / WireImage / Getty Images
In 2018, a man approached the Good Place actor at the gym and told her that every time he saw her, he thought, “Ah, what a shame, she could look so amazing.” He informed her that there were so many different things she could do to improve her body.
Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images
“I’m comfortable, I enjoy my body, I enjoy my curves,” she said in a video after the encounter. “No one needs this. I don’t need this man. To that man, don’t walk up to anyone, don’t walk up to a woman ever again and say anything like that. I don’t need your advice, I don’t want your advice, I didn’t ask you for your advice as to whether or not I’m good-looking enough. Just, fuck off.”
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
15. Alyssa Milano
Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Lifetime
In 2013, radio host Jay Mohr hosted a NASCAR awards event, where Alyssa was a presenter. Later that month, Jay made some horrible statements about her post-pregnancy body on the radio. “It seems like she had a baby and said, ‘I don’t really give a shit.’ I read it on her gut. … Somebody sat in the director’s chair and was not wearing Spanx, and I was like, ‘Jesus Christ.'”
Michael Tullberg / Getty Images
Alyssa responded to his crap with a very classy tweet. “So sorry you felt the need to publicly fat shame me. Be well, and God bless. Please send my love to your beautiful wife.”
.@jaymohr37 So sorry you felt the need to publicly fat-shame me. Be well and God Bless. Please send my love to your beautiful wife.
Alyssa Milano / Twitter: @Alyssa_Milano
16. Kourtney Kardashian
Jason Merritt / Getty Images
Last year, the reality TV star shared pics of herself in a bikini on Instagram. One commenter decided that she looked pregnant and said so.
Kourt responded, writing, “This is me when I have a few extra pounds on, and I actually love it. I have given birth three amazing times, and this is the shape of my body.”
17. And finally, Zendaya
Handout / A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images
During E!’s Fashion Police coverage of the 2015 Oscars, Giuliana Rancic infamously said Zendaya’s locs made her look like someone who smelled of “patchouli oil” or “weed.”
David Crotty / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Outraged, the actor shut down Giuliana’s horrific comments with a beautifully written response she shared on Twitter.
Jason Merritt / Getty Images
“There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough,” she wrote.
Zendaya / Twitter: @Zendaya
A year later, actor Julie Klausner skinny-shamed Zendaya in a now-deleted tweet. “Zendaya’s ultimate retort to Giuliana Rancic is starving herself down to the size of one of her elbows,” she wrote.
Bravo / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Zendaya responded, “Do you find this funny? I will write another paragraph to educate you as well.”
Do you find this funny? I will write another paragraph to educate you aswell #youreallywannabenext? https://t.co/z6dXOJ3Tai
Zendaya / Twitter: @Zendaya
“Now…everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body and love that shit. #thickgirlswinning #skinnygirlswinning #weallwinning,” she concluded.
Now….everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body, and love that shit #thickgirlswinning #skinnygirlswinning #weallwinning
Zendaya / Twitter: @Zendaya
Queens, all of them! A round of applause to all these women for putting body shamers in their place!!
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