Kelly Clarkson on Being Body-Shamed

Kelly Clarkson on being body-shamed

What is Beautiful?

Magazines, TV, and advertisements bombard women with images of physical perfection that seem unobtainable. They tell women that in order to be beautiful they have to be skinny. This constant scrutiny makes looking in the mirror hard for the everyday woman, but what if your job depends on being skinny? Hollywood has made billions from perpetuating the idea that only super skinny people are beautiful and the Hollywood elite are not immune. Body-shaming is commonplace. Kelly Clarkson talked about being body-shamed at the beginning of her career in a recent interview.

Kelly was Body-Shamed

Kelly’s initial shamming came in the form of managers showing her magazines of almost or fully nude models. They would tell her that she needed to look like the models to be successful. That her worth as an artist was in her image rather than her music. Kelly’s management gave her magazines with naked models and told her to compare herself to them.  She was told, “this is what you’re competing against and we’ve got to compete with it”. Kelly said that even when she was at her smallest on American Idol, but she was still not as small as other performers.

 

Other Celebrities Body-Shamed

Kelly is only one of the celebrities that have spoken about being body-shamed. The press, fans, and other celebrities ridicule male and female celebrities constantly for their weight.

Jennifer Lawrence said she is considered “a fat actress” and according to Hollywood standards is obese.

Jonah Hill said, “I became famous in my late teens and then spent most of my young adult life listening to people say that I was fat and gross and unattractive,”. Reporters shamed and ridiculed Hill about his weight despite his amazing success as an actor. These reporters did not focus on his skill as an actor but rather his physical appearance.

https://www.facebook.com/goalcast/videos/308467803525651/

 

Sadly, these are just a few of the numerous examples available in Hollywood.

Treat Yourself Better

There is no “one size fits all” body type; despite what clothing lines or magazines portray. Clarkson went on to say that her most successful career moments happened when she was her heaviest. NBC did not care about Kelly’s weight; they hired her because of her personality and talent. Now when she enters a room; she gives people a look saying, “I dare you to say something. I’m happy in my life. I’ll work on me in my time!” Clarkson’s love for herself and her giving a voice to what really matters is inspiring. Kelly said when she first met Adele, who recently showed off a dramatic weight loss, “that girl is like a goddess”. Kelly said Adele losing weight won’t change how many times she listens to Adele’s albums.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_1VGc5AsoZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Kelly’s positive image of her own body allows her to step away from the noise and hate. She says if a person loses weight for themselves or their health then that is great, but don’t change yourself because someone tells you. Loving yourself and taking care of yourself is what is important.

Allie Johnson

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *