The Riverdale actress shared her own body image struggles on Twitter today.
%20bodies.%20%22This%20industry%20struggles%20with%20accurate%20representation%20of%20female%20and%20male%20bodies.%20So%20I%20commend%20the%20women%20who%20have%20helped%20our%20industry%20take%20a%20step%20in%20the%20right%20–%20and%20authentic%20–%20direction,%22%20she%20said%20before%20calling%20out%20extended%20size%20model%20Charli%20Howard%20as%20%22my%20favourite%20role%20model.%22%0A%0AThis%20isn't%20the%20first%20time%20the Hustlers%20star%20has%20spoken%20out%20about%20body%20image.%20In%20November%20of%20last%20year,%20she%20took%20to%20Instagram%20to%20condemn%20photo-editing%20apps.%20“This%20is%20not%20okay,”%20she%20wrote.%20“This%20is%20why%20people%20develop%20eating%20disorders.%20This%20is%20why%20social%20media%20has%20become%20hazardous%20to%20our%20health.%20This%20is%20why%20people%20have%20unrealistic%20expectations%20of%20their%20bodies.”){kind=link}
Lili Reinhart has shared her struggle with self-love in a thread on Twitter today.
The Riverdale actress and her castmates were criticized by a fan in a since-deleted tweet for being “25+ year olds portraying teenagers with perfectly chiseled bodies” which they said was “contributing to unrealistic body expectations [and] body image issues.”
Lili responded by sharing her own struggle with body image issues, reiterating that a big part of the reason she agrees to do scenes with minimal clothing is to help show that not all bodies on TV are perfect. “Actually, not everyone on this show is perfectly chiseled. And even I feel intimated by the physique of my surrounding cast mates sometimes when I have to bra/underwear scenes. I’ve felt very insecure due to the expectation that people have for women on TV, what they should look like. But I have come to terms with my body and that I’m not the kind of person you would see walking on a runway during fashion week. I have bigger boobs, I have cellulite on my thighs/butt and my stomach sticks out rather than curves in,” she wrote. “This is still something I struggle with on a daily basis. And it doesn’t help when I’m being compared to other women. I have gained weight due to depression the last two months and I’ve felt very insecure about it. But I did a recent bra and underwear scene and felt I was my obligation to be strong and show confidence in myself, looking as I do. And I want other young women to see my body on TV and feel comfort in the fact that I’m not a size 0. And I’m not a perfect hourglass shape. ”
Reinhart ended the thread by acknowledging that there is still plenty of work to be done in the film and TV industries to more accurately represent women’s (and men’s) bodies. “This industry struggles with accurate representation of female and male bodies. So I commend the women who have helped our industry take a step in the right – and authentic – direction,” she said before calling out extended size model Charli Howard as “my favourite role model.”
This isn’t the first time the Hustlers star has spoken out about body image. In November of last year, she took to Instagram to condemn photo-editing apps. “This is not okay,” she wrote. “This is why people develop eating disorders. This is why social media has become hazardous to our health. This is why people have unrealistic expectations of their bodies.”