27 Celebrities Who Have Shut Down Body-Shaming In The Most Epic Ways

"I heard my body is a topic of conversation, so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body, and you should be proud of yours too."

Stephanie

• Published in Interesting
• May 29, 2022

In recent years, there have been countless examples in the media of women (and men) being body-shamed in Hollywood. From Chloë Grace Moretz being called "too big" to Carrie Fisher being told to lose weight, there aren't many celebrities who haven't been the target of body-shaming.

But sadly, this is nothing new because body-shaming has been rife in Hollywood since the beginning of media entertainment's existence. From Marilyn Monroe being sexualized to Greta Garbo being told that she was fat, this persistent obsession with weight and appearance has been a problem forever.

Hollywood actors are put under immense pressure to adhere to beauty standards that are primarily unrealistic and sometimes entirely unachievable. But it isn't just the film directors, producers, and other Hollywood big-wigs that are doing the body-shaming.

More often than not, it is members of the general public who like to criticize, scrutinize, and be downright nasty to celebrities when it comes to their appearance. And then, of course, there are the tabloids.

But nowadays, celebrities don't take these nasty comments lying down. They bite back, and we love to see it!

We thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the best celebrity clap backs. Keep scrolling to read about 27 celebrities who have shut down body-shaming in the most epic ways.

1. Lizzo

When a troll made fun of a family on TikTok, saying, "Your son really needs to go and at least exercise, he's gonna be the next Lizzo if he doesn't," the family took it as a compliment. So much so that they uploaded a video in response of them cheering with joy.

And, of course, in true Lizzo style, the singer shared her own reaction video putting the troll in their place.

She captioned it, "Oh, you mean the next million-dollar dealin', cover of Vogue havin', 3x Grammy Award-winning icon, actress, activist, with a perfect ass?"

2. Jonah Hill

When the Daily Mail published a shirtless photo of Jonah at the beach, the actor responded with an Instagram post. "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," he wrote.

"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 faze me anymore, is dope," he continued. "I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself."

Later on that same year, Jonah shared another message on his Instagram.

3. Ariana Grande

Back in 2015, a troll tweeted a stab at Ariana, writing, "Got asked if I'd prefer Ariel Winter or Ariana Grande lol. It would definitely be Ariel. Curves are sexy, sticks aren't."

Ariana wasn't about to let that one slide, so she replied, writing, "We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are."

"Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy! You know what is NOT sexy? Misogyny, objectifying, labeling, comparing, and body-shaming!" she wrote.

4. Jennifer Lopez

In 2016, JLo spoke to E! about being pressured to lose weight early on in her career. "They kept telling me to lose weight," she said.

"I was a dancer, and I was athletic, and even my manager at the time — who I no longer work with — was telling me, 'You need to lose weight. You need to be thinner,'" she recalled.

"I was like, 'No, I don't. If I lose any more weight, it won't be me.'"

5. Jennifer Lawrence

Much like JLo, JLaw was also fat-shamed early in her career. "Somebody told me I was fat, that I was going to get fired if I didn't lose a certain amount of weight," she said.

"They brought in pictures of me where I was basically naked and told me to use them as motivation for my diet," Jennifer explained.

"If anybody even tries to whisper the word 'diet,' I'm like, 'You can go fuck yourself,'" she said.

6. Lili Reinhart

In 2018, rumors began circling on social media that Lili looked pregnant. The Riverdale actress took to her Instagram to set the record straight.

"This is just my body, and sometimes I'm bloated," she wrote. "Sometimes, an unflattering photo is taken of me."

"Sometimes, I go through periods of time where I gain weight. My body is something I will NEVER apologize for."

"My body will constantly go through change, and so will yours. And that's fine, so let's not put so much time and effort into caring about a stranger's figure," she said.

7. Selena Gomez

In 2015, someone commented on one of Selena's Instagram posts, saying, "You need to work out! Please stop eating junk food."

And in another post, they said, " She's an actress; she needs to tone her body. In the business, sadly, the image - it's important."

Selena replied to the person, writing, "You're disgusting. I'm IN the business, and I could care less about what 'they' or you say I should look like."

"I don't need to do anything other than love myself and take care of my work, fans, family, and friends."

Later that year, Selena revealed that she suffered from lupus. She has undergone several treatments for it, including chemotherapy.

8. Kristen Bell

During both of her pregnancies, Kristen received a lot of criticism for how much weight she gained. In 2013, she said, "I refused to worry about something I could not change, and I still refuse."

"I had to surrender to not worrying about the way I looked, how much I weighed because that's just part of the journey of having a baby," Kristen said. "I am not a woman whose self-worth comes from her dress size."

"Comparison is one long, agonizing death and does not interest me at all."

9. Charlie Puth

When Charlie's body was scrutinized after a shirtless photo of him made its way around the web, he tweeted a response to the haters.

10. Melanie Lynskey

In January this year, Melanie tweeted a response to some trolls who claimed to just "care about her health."

"Skinny does not always equal healthy," she wrote.

11. Kelly Clarkson

In 2015, notorious bully Katie Hopkins fat-shamed Kelly on Twitter. The tweets have since been deleted, but Katie had written, "Jesus, what happened to Kelly Clarkson? Did she eat all of her backing singers?"

"Darling, if you had a baby a year ago, that is not baby weight, it is fat," Katie wrote. "Quit calling it cute names to make yourself feel better."

Kelly responded to the nasty comments in the most positive way possible.

"She tweeted something nasty about me? That's because she doesn't know me," Kelly said.

"I'm awesome! It doesn't bother me," she said.

12. Lily Allen

Similarly, Katie Hopkins made some cruel comments about Lily Allen's post-pregnancy body.

During an interview, Katie said that Lily's pregnancy "largely involved gaining 2 stone and looking pretty hideous."

"Yes, after tragically losing a child so late into my pregnancy, I may have gained a few pounds," Lily responded. "I am one of many that find comfort in food."

"The two pregnancies that followed were terrifying because of what had happened before, and I was pretty much on bed rest for 20 months," Lily continued. "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."

13. Sarah Hyland

In 2017, Sarah was taunted online for her thin figure. She was told that her head was "bigger than her body" and to "eat a burger."

In 2018, Sarah revealed that she had kidney dysplasia. She had a kidney transplant, which her body rejected, and she lost a lot of weight at that time.

Sarah posted a lengthy message on Twitter in response to the cruel comments.

"Positivity is what we need most," she wrote.

14. Jennifer Aniston

In 2016, Jennifer took to HuffPost to address pregnancy rumors that kept surfacing about her.

"For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up," the actress wrote. "I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body-shaming that occurs daily under the guise of 'journalism,' the 'First Amendment,' and 'celebrity news.'"

"The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing," she continued. "The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty."

15. Simone Biles

In 2016, the Olympic medalist received some nasty comments after tweeting a photo of herself wearing shorts.

One man wrote, "Your back has more muscle than mine does." And several similar comments followed.

Simone quickly made a clever response.

16. Ashley Graham

In 2016, Ashley Graham called someone out on her Instagram for saying her thighs were "cellulite city."

"I now realize these thighs tell a story of victory and courage," she wrote.

"I will not let others dictate what they think my body should look like for their own comfort, and neither should you." The model ended with the hashtags #beautybeyondsize #effyourbeautystandards

17. Melissa McCarthy

In a review of her film Identity Thief, Melissa was called "tractor-sized."

Melissa responded in the New York Times, saying, "I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate."

"I just thought, that's someone who's in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot," the actress continued. "I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids, who are mooning me and singing me songs."

18. Jason Momoa

When a shirtless photo of Jason on vacation began circulating, the actor was fat-shamed for his "dad bod."

When asked if the comments hurt him, he replied, "Not at all...tell TMZ I'll show you my dad bod soon."

19. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga slayed at the 2017 Super Bowl; however, she received a lot of cruel taunts afterward about her stomach.

"I heard my body is a topic of conversation, so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body, and you should be proud of yours too," the singer said in response.

"No matter who you are or what you do, I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed," she continued. "Be you, and be relentlessly you; that's the stuff of champions."

20. Gabourey Sidibe

When Gabby attended the 2014 Golden Globes, online trolls body-shamed the star using hashtags such as #ImSurprisedSheCouldFitInTheFrame and #IThinkSheAteTheGoldenGlobes

But the actress had the perfect comeback.

21. Jameela Jamil

In 2018, Jameela was approached at the gym by a man who said he thought there were a lot of improvements she could make to her body.

"I'm comfortable, I enjoy my body, I enjoy my curves," she said afterward. "No one needs this; I don't need this man."

"To that man, don't walk up to anyone, don't walk up to a woman ever again and say anything like that," the actress said. "I don't need your advice, I don't want your advice, I didn't ask you for your advice as to whether or not I'm good-looking enough. Just fuck off."

22. Bebe Rexha

In 2019, Bebe shared a photo on her Instagram of herself performing. The comment section quickly turned nasty, with one person referring to her as "tubby."

Bebe responded with a series of tweets.

"The hate you breed... don't look pretty on you."

"I don't give two shits," the singer wrote.

23. Tyra Banks

In 2007, Tyra was mocked in the tabloids when photos of her in a bikini surfaced.

She was called names like "Thigh-ra Banks" and "America's Next Top Waddle."

Tyra later responded to the hate on her show. "To all of you that have something nasty to say about me or other women that are built like me... I have one thing to say to you: Kiss my fat ass!"

24. Alyssa Milano

In 2013, Alyssa was a presenter at a NASCAR Awards event. Shortly after, radio host Jay Mohr said some awful things about her post-pregnancy body.

"It seems like she had a baby and said, 'I don't really give a shit,'" he said. "I read it on her gut... Somebody sat in the director's chair and was not wearing Spanx, and I was like, 'Jesus Christ.'"

Of course, Alyssa had the perfect response.

25. Kourtney Kardashian

When Kourtney shared a photo of herself in a bikini on Instagram, people decided that she "looked pregnant."

Kourt responded with a Tweet putting the haters back in their place.

26. 50 Cent

The rapper was cruelly fat-shamed after his Super Bowl performance.

His response was everything. "Fat shaming only applies when you're ashamed of your fat," he said.

27. Zendaya

During her coverage of the 2015 Oscars, Giuliana Rancic commented that Zendaya's hair made her look "like someone who smelled of patchouli oil or weed."

And, as only Zendaya can, she shut Giuliana down with a perfectly written response on Twitter.

"There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair," she wrote.

One year on, actress Julie Klausner skinny-shamed the star, tweeting, "Zendaya's ultimate retort to Giuliana Rancic is starving herself down to the size of one of her elbows."

Of course, Zendaya had the perfect comeback for Julie as well.

"Love that shit."

So, there you have it. 27 celebrities who have shut down body-shaming in the most epic ways.

What's your opinion on body-shaming in Hollywood? Do you think celebrities bring it on themselves because of their career choice, or do you think they have every right to bite back at the hostile comments?

We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Feel free to share your opinions with us in the comment section.

Stephanie