While fame is a blessing, it often comes hand in hand with scrutiny, and even the most beloved celebrities find themselves in the middle of a toxic circle of body shaming and cyberbullying. Let's discover ten celebrities who were victims of such cruel body shaming and how it affected their lives.
Body shaming is the action of humiliating, discriminating, or criticising someone based on their appearance. We can consider body shaming as a type of bullying since it seeks harm by making someone feel unworthy.
Unlike what most people assume, body shaming doesn't solely affect people who are overweight. In fact, body shaming has no boundaries, affecting men, women, overweight, skinny, tall or short.
Body shaming leads many people to believe they're unliked and ugly, causing them to feel that they need to "change." And while going on a diet, working out, exercising or having plastic surgery are great ways to enhance your appearance, nobody should do these under pressure.
We want to begin our list with Halsey, as she faced one of the cruellest examples of body shaming. While the famous singer has always had a slim figure, during mid-2022, her fans noticed she was getting increasingly thinner. Thus, people started to criticise her without even considering her emotions or the possibility of a health issue. While some followers voiced their concerns, saying she looked "too thin," "unhealthy," and "sick," some went further, telling her to "put some meat on those bones."
Halsey replied to these comments on a Tiktok video, revealing she had four different health conditions. Thankfully, the famous singer looks healthier.
American actor Raven-Symoné is another celebrity who had to endure cruel body shaming.
Raven was only four years old when she starred in her first television series, The Cosby Show. In the following years, Raven landed more roles in mainstream films and well-received TV series. However, as she stepped into her teenage years, she noticeably gained weight. And while it wasn't supposed to be anyone's business, people, including her fans, started to body-shame her.
As a teenage celebrity frustrated by all the negative criticism and the obligation to meet the sector's criteria, Raven-Symoné decided to go under the knife. She had two breast reductions and liposuction before turning 18.
Kim Kardashian is a renowned beauty icon, a well-known television personality and a successful entrepreneur. Considering her extraordinary looks and extravagant lifestyle, most people wouldn't assume she could be the victim of horrible body shaming. Kardashian sadly received plenty of ghastly comments about her weight and body after giving birth. Yet despite the relentless criticism and body shaming she faced, Kardashian stood up for herself and encouraged others to do the same.
We tend to think body shaming affects mostly women. However, lots of men are shamed, insulted and belittled due to their looks. One of the most significant examples is 50 Cent, who was cruelly body-shamed when he lost weight and got thinner for his role as a cancer patient in the movie Things Fall Apart. Yet, the multi-millionaire rapper shut down his shamers and regained his muscular build in no time.
The Kardashians episode aired on July 20, 2023, revealed a lot about how the Kardashian sisters regarded the modern beauty standards and the body shaming they face. During the episode, Khloé Kardashian mentioned that body shaming led her to make major changes in her appearance.
Khloé Kardashian revealed that due to the pressure, she got better makeups and fillers, as well as going under a nose job. However, even these changes didn't stop the criticisms. Since Khloé looked different from her sisters, she was constantly criticised and faced online bullying.
The beloved Modern Family actor Ariel Winter is among celebrities who faced bullying and body shaming.
Winter started playing Alex Dunphy on Modern Family in 2009 when she was 11, and she was 22 by the final of the series. However, as a teenager who gained a lot of popularity, Winter also received numerous cruel comments about her looks.
When she turned 13, she gained weight and had to change the way she dressed. And even though that was something expected for a teenager, most people called her "fat" and shamed her for wearing revealing clothes.
Due to the body shaming, Winter gained 30 lbs, got on antidepressants and had quite a stressful school life. Winter says that she feels in a better and healthier place today. She works on her self-image and knows she cannot - and doesn't have to - make everyone happy.
The famous American singer Britney Spears is another celebrity who considered plastic surgery and major changes due to body shaming. Nevertheless, unlike most people on our list, the shaming Spears received came from a person very close to her, her father.
In a 2022 Instagram post, Spears revealed how her father called her fat and made her feel horrible about herself. She also mentioned that her family put her on medication and manipulated her. At some point, she considered plastic surgery to change her looks. Thankfully, the famous singer says she regained control of her body and made significant progress in having a more positive self-image.
Famous Singer Demi Lovato has been outspoken about her insecurities and problems. In the past, she had eating disorders, suffered from addiction and never hid any of it. However, all of these issues had a complicated impact on her body image. And unfortunately, society didn't help her during these hardships. She received cruel comments on social media and was called morbidly obese and bullied. At some point, she was about to break her sobriety.
Thankfully, Lovato decided to be completely sober in 2021; she has been developing an increasingly more positive body image since then and sharing her experiences with her followers.
Kylie Jenner has always been quite outspoken about the recent beauty standards. However, in the season finalé of The Kardashians, Jenner admitted to enlarging her breasts after years of denying it.
Apparently, Kylie Jenner had breast surgery months before getting pregnant with her daughter, Stormi. Although Kylie didn't reveal why she had breast surgery, she mentioned that her family had harmful and impossible body standards, hinting that her family might have played a role in her decision.
Robbie Williams is another male celebrity who faced significant criticism and cyberbullying due to his appearance. When the famous singer struggled with illnesses and depression, fans and Instagram followers called him "skinny" and "too thin" countless times. Considering that he was already suffering from body dysmorphia, these shameful comments did nothing but making him even more self-conscious.
