Celebrities are constantly receiving attention for their weight, and even the slightest weight gain is met with a humongous amount of (usually negative) publicity. Paparazzi will find photographs taken at the most unflattering angles possible and plaster them all over the tabloids, making it seem like a certain celeb has quadrupled in size when perhaps they just wore an unflattering outfit or were a bit bloated that day.
It’s a toxic atmosphere and it can be easy to want to run and hide when you’re fat shamed, particularly if you’re a celebrity who has been called out so publicly. It’s never nice to hear someone trashing your body, particularly if you’re already feeling somewhat insecure, as many women are.
Some celebrities seem to respond to fat shaming early in their career by dieting down to a size 0 and holding onto their skinny frames with a death grip. And then there’s the ladies who make up this list. Ladies who stepped up when they were fat shamed and said it wasn’t okay to judge people solely on their appearance, that they were worth more than just their dress size. They used their star power to make their voices heard. And everyone cheered.
Here are 15 amazing celebrity responses to fat shaming.
15 Kelly Clarkson
With a newly formed little family unit and a still strong music career, Kelly Clarkson’s doing pretty well lately. However, in February of 2015, a British journalist by the name of Katie Hopkins saw Clarkson on a television appearance and tweeted out “Jesus, what happened to Kelly Clarkson? Did she eat all of her backing singers?” Clarkson wasn’t upset by the harsh comment whatsoever. As she told Heat, “I’ve just never cared what people think. It’s more if I’m happy and 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.” Basically, she told Hopkins that her comment meant literally nothing to her and that she didn’t need the acceptance of some random journalist who didn’t have a tenth of the success she did.
14 Rebel Wilson
Since she burst onto the scene and started making audiences around the world crack up, Rebel Wilson has been receiving comments about her weight. Sure, she might not be a size 2, but her comedic skills are on point and she’s slaying every role she gets. However, don’t think that she’s staying up at night thinking about all those fat-shaming comments she’s gotten. Her response to the shamers, which she explained to Extra, is simple. “I don’t really care what I look like that much, and I think women out there should just be happy with the way they look.’
13 Demi Lovato
It’s bad enough to fat shame a regular celebrity, but to shame someone about their weight when they’ve literally had to receive treatment for an eating disorder? That’s just completely egregious. At the 2011 MTV VMAs, pop superstar Demi Lovato showed up looking great in a sparkly dress. Not everyone seemed to think so, however, and comments started pouring in about her weight – despite the fact that she just got out of treatment for bulimia! Thankfully, Lovato’s time in treatment seemed to have strengthened her outlook and she merely fired back “I’ve gained weight. Get over it. That’s what happens when you get out of treatment for an eating disorder. I’m healthy and happy, and if you’re hating on my weight, you obviously aren’t.” Go, girl.
12 Kim Kardashian
It’s completely shocking to see what people think is okay to criticize. When Kim Kardashian was pregnant with North, she received a ton of fat shaming comments due to her weight gain – you know, the weight she gained while pregnant like you’re supposed to. Luckily, this strong mama didn’t let the haters get her down, and she fired back on twitter. “Making fun of me pregnant and making fun of me trying to lose weight now, shame on you,” she commented. “I’m not perfect but I will never conform to your skinny standards, sorry! Don’t give young girls a complex.” Anyone would agree that, throughout her pregnancy, she still looked super chic and gorgeous, and she’s in an entertainment industry power couple with another adorable baby on the way, so we’re pretty sure she had the last laugh.
11 Jessica Simpson
In a 2009 performance, pop star Jessica Simpson wore a pair of high waisted jeans that were perhaps not the most flattering garment on her body. However, the reaction that they received was completely ridiculous – she got fat shamed almost immediately, and people still comment on those jeans to this day, over five years later. Simpson used the fat shaming to bring attention to the truly ridiculous way that the press criticize female stars. As she said, “what’s more unbelievable is tha the press could create something like that out of a pair of jeans. What woman wants to be brought down for wearing a pair of jeans?”
10 Pink
Pink is known for her ultra-toned physique, so when she turned up to a cancer benefit looking the slightest bit softer than she typically does, the world noticed – and, unfortunately, proceeded to fat shame her. She responded in basically the most badass, classy way you possible could. Her tweet began by bringing attention to the reason she was at the event, to support a friend, Dr. Maggie DiNome, who does work in cancer research. She went on to address the fat shaming saying “I am perfectly fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body is having some much deserved time off.”
9 Lily Allen
Lily Allen is another celeb who got fat shamed by British journalist Katie Hopkins, who is quickly getting the reputation of a catty woman who must have nothing better going on in her own life if she’s constantly making fat shaming successful singers. When speaking with Heat, Hopkins commented on the state of Allen’s career and physique, saying that “she removed herself from the spotlight to become a mother, [which] largely involved gaining two stone and looking pretty hideous.” Um, excuse me? Allen fired back, revealing the real reason behind her slight weight gain – she was having a lot of trouble with her pregnancies. “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.”
8 Gabourey Sidibe
Talented actress Gabourey Sidibe showed up on the Golden Globes red carpet, having picked out a dress she loved. Due to her size, many immediately began critiquing the look and fat-shaming her mercilessly. Sidibe responded in a way that made all her fans laugh: “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.” That’s right – she basically fired back in the best way, saying that she was too successful to worry about the petty comments people were making about her appearance.
7 Alyssa Milano
Comedian Jay Mohr took things to a totally distasteful level when he shamed actress Alyssa Milano about her weight shortly after she gave birth, essentially implying that she totally gave up and let herself go after… you know, producing a human being. Milano could have easily fired back something sarcastic and cut him down a few pegs, but she decided to kill him with class instead, tweeting “so sorry you felt the need to publicly fat-shame me. Be well and God Bless. Please send my love to your beautiful wife.” Mohr apologized, but the damage had already been done at that point, and at the end of the day, you have to respect the hell out of Milano’s classy response.
6 Sarah Millican
British comedian Sarah Millican is one of the funniest women in the business, and her success led to an invite to the BAFTA awards. She picked out a dress that she loved, strutted her stuff on the red carpet, and pretty much immediately began receiving tweets about her appearance. Some merely commented negatively about the dress, but she also received many comments about her weight. Millican addressed the issue by writing an article in the Radio Times - it’s a phenomenal piece that describes her entire process of getting ready, picking the dress, just being overwhelmingly excited about being honored with a nomination, and then having it all torn down by the negative comments that people feel it’s okay to make. She closed with an absolutely brilliant statement, saying that “I thought I had been invited to such an illustrious event because I am good at my job.” You said it, girl.
5 Adele
Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld may have gotten a skewed perspective after working around so many pin thin models, as he critiqued British star Adele for her weight, saying “she is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face and a divine voice.” Karl, adding a few compliments to an offensive, negative statement doesn’t make it any better. Adele responded by saying “I’ve never wanted to be a skinny mini with my tits out. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.” Sorry, Karl – she’s probably just at home, crying over her countless Grammy awards and hugely successful career. She’ll totally be bothered by your fat shaming another day.
4 Sam Smith
This example proves that it’s not always just women who are fat shamed – even male celebs can experience the vitriol that is fat shaming. Howard Stern, who is known for his offensive statements, talked about Smith on his radio show and called him a “fat ugly mother$%#@.” Smith went on to win an armful of awards at the Grammys a few weeks after that incident, and he responded by sending out a hugely positive message during his acceptance speech. He basically said that he started to earn success once he started to love and accept his body and his self rather than trying to lose weight and change who he was. That’s the kind of message stars should be putting out there.
3 Kristen Bell
Like many female celebrities, Kristen Bell decided to have children and became pregnant when she was already a huge star – which meant that the paparazzi followed her every step of the way. Rather than commenting about her talent, many people fat-shamed Bell for gaining weight – again, during pregnancy, when you’re supposed to. Bell addressed the negativity in a 2013 interview with Redbook and basically said that fat shaming didn’t affect her anymore. To quote the star herself, “I am not a woman whose self-worth comes from her dress size.” She has an adorable family and a career that has remained strong over the years, so she’s doing alright. Sorry, haters.
2 Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling is hugely successful and incredibly at what she does – she’s gone from an actress to a writer, director, and creator of her very own show. She’s incredibly inspiring, but unfortunately, a lot of the attention she gets focuses on how she’s perhaps slightly larger than the average size 0 starlet. She gets constantly bombarded with fat shaming in disguise, comments about how it’s “courageous” for her to make certain fashion choices. Because, you know, if you’re not a size 0 you should be wearing a tarp all the time, according to the press. She was having none of it, and commented that it’s garbage for people to make those comments, saying “I run and work out. It takes a lot of effort to look like a normal woman.”
1 Tyra Banks
In 2007, Tyra Banks had had enough of fat shaming. Paparazzi snapped some less than flattering photos of the supermodel in her bathing suit during a trip to the beach and she got shamed for not looking Sports Illustrated swimsuit ready, with some tabloids calling her "Thigh-ra Banks." It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and she responded with a rant that absolutely needs to be watched. She ended with one of the best responses to fat shaming ever, a simple one liner: “kiss my fat a$s!” The audience cheered. Everyone watching at home cheered. If you watch the video, you’ll probably cheer. All we can say is: yes, girl. Yes. You go.
Sources: womenshealthmag.com, buzzfeed.com, mic.com
