28 celebrities who have expertly shut down body-shamers
Celebrities have always been easy targets for body shamers. In fact, it seems to be an intrinsic part of the price they pay for daring to exist in the public eye. But does that make it right? Well, no.
Anyone who has ever felt their heart sink into their stomach as they witness a friend fat-shame a celebrity will know that the standards we set for the elite can directly impact our own wellbeing and self-worth. There's a misplaced sense of public-ownership over celebrities and their bodies that mimics how women are treated in everyday life.
When the swimsuits, shorts, and crop tops come out, so do the insecurities.
While the majority of body-shaming takes the form of fatphobia, celebrities can also become targets if they lose weight, or the public decides they are too skinny or muscular. Yep, they can't win. And if A-listers are having to answer for their bodies, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Thankfully, more and more celebrities are taking a stand against body-shaming. In July 2024, Kesha spoke out on Instagram, powerfully saying that haters make her “feel powerful”. She wrote: “To those who think you’re shaming me, you’re actually making me feel very powerful. So, to you, I hope you one day feel whole enough to not tear other women down. In the mean time, hate me harder bitch.”
Florence Pugh was subjected to cruel comments after her first-ever nude scene in Oppenheimer, with trolls calling her ‘mid’ – but Pugh said it best herself last year: “What's been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see,” she wrote on Instagram, later adding, “Grow up. Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans. Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise.”
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan spoke out about her experiences of body-shaming on Instagram in January 2022, asking her followers to stop commenting on her weight, saying, “So just a thing – if you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me.”
She also proudly spoke up for herself when she was recently told that she was “brave” for showing her body in nude scenes in Bridgerton, after which she retorted: “You know it is hard because I think women with my body type — women with perfect breasts – we don't get to see ourselves on screen enough, and I'm very proud as a member of the perfect breast community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.”
We are loving Selena's 2022 energy.
Ariana Grande also shared a candid video with fans in response to ‘concerns’ over her weight back in 2023. “You have talked a lot about it [my body] over the past decade or longer so I'd like to join in this time,” she told her 32.1 million followers on TikTok. “I know personally for me, the body that you have been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” the 29-year-old said. “I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that in fact wasn’t my healthy.”
Ariana proving once more that you never know what somebody is going through, and that commenting on anyone's weight is never okay. Period.
Here are 28 celebrities who clapped back at body-shamers in the most epic way:
Sarah MorrisKesha
Kesha shared an Instagram image alongside a powerful caption in July 2024, sharing her recent experiences of body-shaming. Her full message read: "I didn’t think in 2024 people still body shamed, but I am so proud of my body. She’s been through a lot. She’s torn her ACL on stage and finished the show. She’s held my f**king broken heart together. To those who think you’re shaming me, you’re actually making me feel very powerful. So, to you, I hope you one day feel whole enough to not tear other women down. In the mean time, hate me harder bitch.”
This isn't the first time that Kesha has clapped back against body-shamers, sadly. The singer, who has spoken in the past about her experiences with eating disorders, shared a bikini pic in 2016 – writing: “Not a slave to perfection right now. F**k it. ***body shamers please f**k off, ain't nobody got time for it.”
Kevin MazurAriana Grande
In a candid TikTok, Ariana Grande spoke openly about the comments fans have been making about her body, writing: “You have talked a lot about it [my body] over the past decade or longer so I’d like to join in this time.”
She urged people gently to stop commenting on people's bodies. Preach!
Jacopo RauleFlorence Pugh
British actress Florence was forced to address disgusting comments from "vulgar men" who thought it appropriate to discuss her body and how it looked in a sheer hot pink dress.
The Midsommar star expertly wrote an Instagram post: "What's more concerning is…. Why are you so scared of breasts? Small? Large? Left? Right? Only one? Maybe none? What. Is. So. Terrifying. It makes me wonder what happened to you to be so content on being so loudly upset by the size of my boobs and body..?"
Florence explained that she was "grateful" to have grown up in a household with "very strong, powerful, curvy women" - and that the hoards of unsolicited comments from disgusting, body-shaming men thankfully didn't affect the relationship with her body.
Jeff Kravitz/MTV VMAs 2021Madonna
After an appearance in the Grammy’s 2023, Madonna opened up about some of the trolling she received in an Instagram post.
She wrote: “Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim - many people chose to only talk about close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera by a press photographer that would distort anyone’s face!!
“Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in.
"A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous.
“I have never apologised for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come. In the words of Beyoncé, ‘You-won’t break my soul’.
“I look forward to many more years of subversive behaviour, pushing boundaries, standing up to the patriarchy and most of all enjoying my life.
Bow down bitches! 💃🏼🪩🎤💄🎼👠.”
Karwai TangEmma Thompson
During the promotion of her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande in 2022, Emma Thompson told The Late Show host Stephen Colbert how she, co-star Daryl McCormack and director Sophie Hyde spent a day trying to get over the fear of being nude, with them outlining bits of themselves that they weren’t so fond of.
The actress shared, “We just took our clothes off and we did it bit by bit and looked at our bodies and said, ‘Well, I don’t like this bit, because, well, I’ve got a scar here.'”
She added: “You can look at it with a neutral gaze and you’re not just always looking in the mirror and going, ‘That’s just wrong. What can I do?’
“I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to waste my passion, my energy, my curiosity, my money and my life’s purpose worrying about my body,” she added. “That’s what I’ll do. What a good idea. Welcome. Yeah, let’s do that. It’s so much fun.
“No. Stop it, everyone. Stop it. There are eight-year-olds out there saying, ‘I don’t like my thighs.'”
The actress said that throughout her career, she’s been subjected to multiple instances of body-shaming. During an interview with The Times, she said: “I’ve never really been offered sex scenes. As my mother said, I’ve basically played a series of ‘good’ women. I do ‘cerebral’,” she said. “And I have also never conformed to the shape or look of someone they might want to see naked.”
“And by ‘they,’ I mean male executives. I’m too mouthy, not pretty enough, not the right kind of body. And, crikey, you are constantly told what kind of body you have,” she added.
Getty ImagesHalsey
Halsey has previously been forced to defend themselves against the barrage of hateful comments that they received around their appearance, which included being called "unhealthy" and "sick", with some commentors advising them to "put some meat on those bones." Halsey, who days earlier revealed a multiple health diagnosis, commented on TikTok: "'u look sick' BC I AM! LET ME LIVE!" Another reminder that we never know what someone else is going through.
Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesSelena Gomez
Selena has always championed body positivity, and made another clap back at body-shamers in April 2022.
Discussing the scrutiny she is constantly under, she said: "So I be trying to stay skinny, but I went to Jack in the Box and I got four tacos, three egg rolls, onion rings and a spicy chicken sandwich.
"But honestly, I don’t care about my weight because people b**ch about it anyway. ‘You’re too small.’ ‘You’re too big.’ ‘That doesn’t fit.’ ‘Meh meh meh’. B**ch, I am perfect the way I am. Moral of this story? Bye!"
You tell 'em, Selena.
Phillip FaraoneCamila Cabello
Earlier this year, Camila was forced to address the constant body-shaming she has been subjected to by sharing a lengthy Instagram post in which she candidly said her body image had been affected by society's opinions and not her own.
She also opened up about the constant pressure to look a certain way left her "mental health suffering".
Camila went on to acknowledge that "I'm not at the point of my journey where I can not give a f*** about the scrutiny I receive". However, she knows that what she looks like "doesn't determine how healthy, happy, or sexy I am."
Kelly Lee BarrettBarbie Ferreira
Barbie has used her platform to talk about how body-shaming can come about differently.
She has called out the "backhanded compliments" she has received for wearing clothes designed for smaller women, and the assumption that she has to put more pressure on loving her body because of her size.
"It's so funny that people just assume that," she said. "What — did I say that? I never said that. You guys just say that. You posted that on me," she told WhoWhatWear in a new interview.
Phillip FaraoneBebe Rexha
You don't just find body-shamers in the depths of the internet, as stunning singer Bebe Rexha learned.
Back in 2019, the Baby, I'm Jealous hitmaker called out body-shaming designers who wouldn't dress her for the Grammys because she was "too big". What?!
While disappointed, Bebe defiantly explained: "If a size 6-8 is too big, then I don't know what to tell you. Then I don't want to wear your f***ing dresses. 'Cause that's crazy... You're saying that all the women in the world that are size eight and up are not beautiful, and they cannot wear your dresses."
The same year she also fired back at body-shamers on Twitter, writing: "To all the people tweeting mean things to me about my weight you just want a response, and you will not get it. Unless you are completely perfect you have no f***in right to talk about anybody else's body." Bebe concluded with, "I don't give two shits about what people think about my weight. I care about what I think about my weight." Cue clap emojis!
Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesTess Holliday
Model, author and body positivity advocate Tess always has the most eloquent responses to body-shamers. In June 2022, she replied to a TikTok commenter who had written on one of her posts: "I’ve been following really big fat ppl so I could see how others see me. Was so grossed out, I lost over 150 pounds so far.”
She calmly had the last word, telling the camera: “Unfortunately, that is all happening in a bubble. You are seeking out content of larger bodied individuals as a way to make yourself feel better. Which is kind of a weird thing to do in general, especially when I can guarantee you a lot of the larger bodied individuals you're following have happy, full lives, not despite them being fat — they just are. They just exist.”
“So, you know, glad you can use fat folks as inspiration for you not being fat,” she added. “But I would really check the inside, on your journey to thinness, because I can guarantee that is not going to bring you the happiness that you're looking for. And heaven forbid you gain all that weight back. What are you going to do then?”
Hollywood To You/Star MaxRebel Wilson
Rebel has spoken candidly out about how society has treated her differently since losing some weight. She told The Morning Crew: “I liked to think I looked good at all sizes and stuff,” she said. “And I've always been quite confident, so it's not like I wasn't confident and now I'm super confident. I think what's been really interesting is how other people treat you.”
“Sometimes being bigger, people didn't necessarily look twice at you,” she continued. “Now that I'm in ‘good shape’, people offer to carry my groceries to the car and hold doors open for you.”
Dave Benett / Getty Images for Richard QuinnNicola Coughlan
In January 2022, Nicola took to Instagram to ask her fans to stop commenting on her body. She wrote, "So just a thing – if you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me," she told her followers. "Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day."
She continued, "If you have an opinion about me that’s ok, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say but I beg you not to send it to me directly ❤️."
In March 2021, she also clapped back at a podcast host who referred to her as “the fat one from Bridgerton.” The Twitter user criticised Nicola's outfit at The Golden Globes, writing: "The fat girl from Bridgerton is wearing a black cardigan at the Golden Globes, bc no matter how hot and stylish you are, if you’re a fat girl there will always be a black cardigan you think about wearing, then decide against, but ultimately wear bc you feel like you have to.”
In response, Nicola tweeted, "I thought the cardigan looked ace, Molly Goddard used them on her runway with the dresses – that’s where the idea came from, also I have a name.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty ImagesMelanie Lynskey
The star of Yellowjackets took to Twitter to clap back at a troll, writing, “Most egregious are the “I care about her health!!” people…b*tch you don’t see me on my Peleton! You don’t see me running through the park with my child. Skinny does not always equal healthy.”
She also previously opened up about body shaming that took place behind the scenes of Yellowjackets, revealing that a member of the production team criticised her shape (via Rolling Stone): “They were asking me, 'What do you plan to do? I'm sure the producers will get you a trainer. They'd love to help you with this.'"
Rachel Murray / Getty Images for Christian SirianoAlicia Silverstone
In January 2022, Clueless star Alicia Silverstone went viral on TikTok after calling out a paparazzi photo that referred to her as “fat." She responded by posting a TikTok of her giving the camera a middle finger, with the caption, “Damn. I think I look good.”
And in an interview with The Guardian back in 2020, Alicia opened up about how she dealt with tabloids focusing on her weight from such a young age.
“They would make fun of my body when I was younger,” she said of how certain media outlets treated her. “It was hurtful but I knew they were wrong. I wasn’t confused. I knew that it was not right to make fun of someone’s body shape, that doesn’t seem like the right thing to be doing to a human.”
CBS / Getty ImagesAdele
In an interview with British Vogue following her comeback in 2021, Adele called out the intense scrutiny of her body by the media and her fans. She said, "People have been talking about my body for 12 years. They used to talk about it before I lost weight. But yeah, whatever, I don’t care.
"You don’t need to be overweight to be body positive, you can be any shape or size."
Adele also criticised those who sought to capitalise on her weight loss, saying, "You know a hundred per cent of the stories written about me have been absolutely fake. The people that came out being like, ‘I trained her,’ I’ve never met in my life. It’s disgusting. I cannot get over it. Some Pilates lady I’ve never met in my life! And I haven’t done any diet […] Ain’t done that. No intermittent fasting. Nothing. If anything I eat more than I used to because I work out so hard.
"And also, that whole thing of like, ‘Gets Revenge Body’… Oh my god," she said. "It’s ridiculous. I think it’s that people love to portray a divorced woman as spinning out of control, like, ‘Oh she must be crackers' ... Because what is a woman without a husband?”
Rich Fury / Getty Images for OBB MediaDemi Lovato
In March 2021, Demi Lovato opened up about how a body-shaming headline almost threatened their sobriety. They told Paper Magazine, "I think it was right after I got out of rehab in 2018. I saw an article somewhere that said I was morbidly obese. And that is the most triggering thing that you could possibly write about somebody with an eating disorder."
Demi explained the impact the headline had on them, saying: “I wanted to quit, I wanted to use, wanted to give up.” Instead, they decided to stop reading the harmful stories, explaining, "I just realised that if I don't look at those things then they can't affect me. So, I stopped looking and I just really try not to look at anything negative."
Larry Busacca / Getty Images for Parkwood EntertainmentBeyoncé
In 2021, Beyoncé opened up about her body being scrutinised when she was in Destiny's Child. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, she said, “I remember when I started hearing people criticise me after I had put on some weight. I was 19. None of the sample clothes fit me. I was feeling a bit insecure from hearing some of the comments, and I woke up one day and refused to feel sorry for myself, so I wrote Bootylicious.”
She referred to this time as “the beginning of me using whatever life handed me and turning it into something empowering to other women and men who were struggling with the same thing.”
Jeff Schear / Getty Images for TAO ChicagoKourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian regularly claps back at body shamers. In April 2024, she responded to a comment on Instagram after Kim shared a bikini snap of Kourteney, Kim and Khloe in honour of Kourtney's 45th birthday.
When one commenter suggested that she wouldn't like photo because it showed her post-partum tummy, she wrote: "I LOVE this photo! It is me and my sisters having the best time on a trip with our kids… and the memories last forever! And I LOVE this body that gave me my three big babies and my little baby boy.”
Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images for Bottomless ClosetGabourey Sidibe
In 2017, Gabourey Sidibe had the best reaction to body shamers. Appearing on Janet Mock's podcast, Never Before, she said, "People pretend that they care about my health by calling me a fat disgusting b*****,” adding, “You do not care about my health. You are just a giant a**."
Gabourey continued, "You think that you can have an opinion about me — but this is my body. I’m not out here in these streets writing think pieces about how your d*** is too small."
In an interview with NPR, she said, "I am plus-size, I have dark skin and I am 100 percent beautiful, but I get a lot of flak. 'Oh, you should lose weight.' And now that I have lost weight — I lost weight for health reasons — I get, 'You look good, but don't lose too much weight because your face is starting to sink in.'"
Dave Benett / Getty Images for NoMad LondonLena Dunham
In October 2021, Lena Dunham took to Instagram to call out the trolls who'd been commenting on her appearance. She wrote, “one narrative I take issue with […] is that I should somehow be ashamed because my body has changed since I was last on television.”
She continued, “When will we learn to stop equating thinness with health/happiness? Of course weight loss can be the result of positive change in habits, but guess what? So can weight gain […] I say this for any other person whose appearance has been changed with time, illness or circumstance – it's okay to live in your present body without treating it as transitional. I am, and I'm really enjoying it.”
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Getty ImagesJonah Hill
After years of needless media speculation about his body, Jonah Hill spoke out in October 2021, asking people not to comment – regardless of their intention. He wrote on Instagram, "I know you mean well but I kindly ask that you not comment on my body good or bad I want to politely let you know it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good. Much respect."
In February 2021, he also called out the Daily Mail for publishing shirtless photos of him, saying, "I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends. Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers.
“So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can’t phase me anymore is dope. I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself.”
Rodin Eckenroth / FilmMagic via Getty ImagesBillie Eilish
Billie Eilish has long used her platform to hit back at body shamers. The singer opened her 2021 Where Do We Go world tour with the following powerful statement:
"If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut. Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me. While I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sighs of relief, if I lived by them, I’d never be able to move.
“The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted? If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?”
Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic / Getty ImagesLili Reinhart
At the GLAMOUR Women of the Year Summit in 2018, Lili Reinhart used her speech to highlight how it felt seeing her body in paparazzi photos, saying, “I became hyper-aware of my changing body. I could see the difference in my shape in photos and wondered if anyone else was noticing. I felt this strange, constant struggle of having to live up to the expectation of the appearance that I had already established to the world.”
She continued, "I think about when I have kids in the future. Will my daughter be self-conscious about gaining weight? Will she feel the need to explain her body or justify it to anyone as it changes? Will she feel that same need that I do now – to apologise to her peers and say, 'My body doesn’t usually look like this,' or 'I’m just a little heavier than usual right now'? How utterly ridiculous is it that we even think about explaining the nature of our bodies to other people?"
Raymond Hall / GC Images via Getty ImagesAshley Graham
In 2017, Ashley Graham penned a powerful essay for Lenny Letter, calling out the impossible standards she's held to as a plus-size model. “To some I’m too curvy. To others I’m too tall, too busty, too loud, and, now, too small — too much, but at the same time not enough. When I post a photo from a ‘good angle’, I receive criticism for looking smaller and selling out. When I post photos showing my cellulite, stretch marks, and rolls, I’m accused of promoting obesity. The cycle of body-shaming needs to end. I’m over it,” she wrote.
Neil MockfordKate Winslet
Kate has been very open about the body-shaming she has experienced during her acting career, and proudly spoken out against it.
She said backstage at the 2017 BAFTAs, "When I was only 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might do okay if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts… look at me now!
“So what I feel like saying to any young woman who has ever been put down by a teacher or a friend, or even a parent – just don't listen to any of it. Because that's what I did, I didn't listen and I kept on going. I overcame all my fears and I got over a lot of insecurity. Just keep doing it – keep believing in yourself.”
Rich Fury/VF22/Getty ImagesMindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling is another actor who has revealed she experienced body-shaming behind the scenes.
While appearing on Good Morning America, she shared that a co-star on The Office advised that her character, Kelly Kapoor, should lose 15 pounds. “This is my greatest insecurity and someone just called it out,” she said. “It’s really devastating.”
She added how it only made her want to see all kinds of body types on-screen. "On TV, if you were really thin, then you could be the lead. Otherwise, you had to be like 250 pounds, and you had to be the slapstick comic relief,” she said.
“What if you’re like a [size] 12 and you want to just live your life and look cute and date?” she added.
Bellocqimages/Bauer-GriffinChrissy Teigen
After sharing a bikini video on Twitter in 2020, Chrissy was sent nasty and unnecessary comments about her body, including some that said she was “shaped like Spongebob” and that her husband John Legend had “gotta be cheating”.
Of course, she had a typically sassy response. "Everyone used to... surgically enhanced curves. I’ve been a square my whole life and let me tell you, it’s paid off nicely in many ways!
“Imagine if one day I showed up with hips and an ass,” she added. “Ooooo you guys would be pissed then too! I’m happy, John’s happy, we all happy and doing a-okay!”
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
