"All to fit in a f*cking dress? So wrong"
By now, you’ll have seen the Met Gala news (and edit of the best dressed) doing the rounds, including Kim K’s Marilyn dress, Blake Lively’s amazing outfit change, and Rihanna receiving a surprise honour.
Trigger warning: discusses themes of eating disorders and weight loss
Sadly, headline news has also been the fad diet Kim undertook to fit into Marilyn’s infamous Jean Louis dress – and today, Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has publically shared her thoughts on the matter.
While she didn’t call out anyone specifically, she did share on her Instagram Stories that she thought that “starving” yourself “to fit in a f*cking dress” is “so wrong”.
She posted to her 29 million followers: “To walk on a red carpet and do an interview where you say how starving you are… because you haven’t eaten carbs in the last month… all to fit in a f*cking dress? So wrong. So f*cked on 100s of levels.”
She added that those who advocate for fad and crash weight loss plans show “other-worldly ignorance.”
“To openly admit to starving yourself for the sake of the Met Gala. When you know very well that millions of young men and women are looking up to you and listening to your every word. The ignorance is other-worldly disgusting.”
Reinhart has been vocal in the past about her own struggles with body image and self love, sharing again on social media that obsessive thoughts about her body and weight have sometimes taken over.
Talking to BuzzFeed, she also said: “I’ve been struggling with obsessive thoughts about my body/weight the last few months and it’s gotten pretty severe in the last week… I want to take a moment to be vulnerable and share this in the hope that any of you who are also struggling don’t feel so alone.”
Working in the public eye where your appearance is often scrutinised often leads to immense pressure, in turn affecting how celebrities view themselves and their bodies.
Reinhart blames the media for lack of representation, and shares that if they didn’t “obsess” over bodies and weight so much, body acceptance, love, and positivity would be far more prevalent.
“I didn’t think being in this industry, that is so obsessed with women’s bodies and weights, could ever mess with my own body acceptance and positivity. But it has. I wish I hadn’t grown up in a time where the media worshipped only one size of women,” she shares.
“It’s painful to think hundreds of millions of us are so concerned with what our bodies look like. That’s an incredibly broken system,” she added. “Somewhere along the line, humanity really f*cked this one up.”
Fans were quick to agree with the actress on social media.
I agree with you Lily. everyday we are comforted with a toxic and false "reality" about how we had to be and look like. I as a person with nothing special feel extremely sad when I see that I'm not as thin or beautiful as famous people or I don't even have their life.
— 🍀🌷 Beatriz Formiga 🌻🌸 (@Beatriz24409392) May 4, 2022
losing 16 pounds in 3 weeks is not healthy nor realistic for a large amount of bodies. then boasting about it to the world saying it was all worth it to look that good… it’s gonna affect others in the worst way possible.
— raging fangirl (@raging_fangir1) May 4, 2022
THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT IMPORTANT TOPICS LIKE THIS!!! (the karens on twitter aside🙄) i know i appreciate it so much when someone who has a platform speaks out against the toxic actions in the industry!❤️
— amanda☾ | SAM DAY!!! (@classyreinhart) May 4, 2022
She ended her posts yesterday by encouraging her fans to talk about their feelings and discuss negative body image with friends and family, in order to help recognise that they are not alone and many feel the same way.
“It’s heartbreaking that this feeling is understood by so many of us,” she shared. “Let’s continue to talk about it. Normalize it. Empathize with others. Show compassion and kindness.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
If you or someone you know is struggling with obsessive, intrusive, or disordered thoughts about your body or food, do reach out to Beat. They are the UK’s leading charity dedicated to helping people with eating disorders – simply call 0808 801 0677.