The anti-skinny movement
Is online speculation about celebrities' weight justified?
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The press tour for musical-movie adaptation Wicked has generated a lot of discussion. Some of it lighthearted, like this “holding space” meme. But some of it has veered into dangerously speculative territory.
On various social media platforms, I keep seeing dialogue about Ariana Grande’s weight (as well as her co-star, Cynthia Erivo). There are people in the comment sections who came to Ariana’s defense, like a Threads user who said, “If she does [have an eating disorder], it's for the people who know and care about her to check in with her, not strangers on the internet to speculate.”
Others hop on the blame train, saying things like “Because looking like a skeleton is the new fad in Hollywood so nobody is going to talk about it” and “It's hip again. Haven't you noticed? Lucky for us we'll ALL be starving soon. So at least we'll slay.”
“When you publicly position yourself in front of millions of impressionable, potentially at-risk fans as an example of a healthy body, you aren't just harming yourself. You're harming/potentially triggering others,” journalist EJ Dickson said on X about Ariana Grande.
I’ve seen online comparisons to Eugenia Cooney, a goth-style influencer who took off in the 2010s. With millions of subscribers, Eugenia’s fanbase became concerned about her weight loss after noticeable physical changes. Some went as far as calling 911 in 2023 to urge police to take action and signing petitions. Eugenia has been blamed for fueling “edtwt”1 and “thinspiration” accounts – online movements that promote eating disorders by glamorizing skinniness.
Eugenia still posts on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and X, and there you’ll be greeted by similar concerns. Commenters asked on a recent YouTube video of hers, “Who still comes back here to see if she’s still alive?” and “Girl check yourself into inpatient and bite the bullet. This is terrifying.”
Famous musician Halsey was very clear in their song “Lucky” how unproductive speculating on someone’s weight is. Her album “The Great Impersonator” explored her struggle with serious health issues she kept private.
“And why she losin' so much weight? / I heard it's from the drugs she ate / And I feel her, but I can't relate / 'Cause I'd never end up in that state,” Halsey sings. “I told everybody I was fine for a whole damn year / And that's the biggest lie of my career.”
Actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role as Black Panther, also had people comment on his weight before he died of stage IV colon cancer, which he kept private throughout his career. As someone a part of the cancer community, I know comments on physical appearance – weight, hair, scars, complexion – are often cited as a difficult part of the experience. Everyone seems to have an opinion on your body.
People on the internet aren’t just opposed to perceived unhealthy weight loss. They seem to be opposed to weight loss in general.
I would go so far as to call this an “anti-skinny movement.” Some of the pushback is righteous and well-intentioned, seeking to fight back against unrealistic body standards.
On X, journalist EJ Dickson said, “I know this is difficult to talk about. I know the narrative that we need to stop commenting on women's bodies. And I agree with it. EXCEPT when these bodies are explicitly being framed as healthy/normal/aspirational, and this framing puts young women's lives at risk.”
But some of the pushback just seems jealous and mean.
Actress Barbie Ferreira played a body positive character on Euphoria and has notably lost weight, garnering comments from the internet like “the ozempic trend just proves these people were never body positive to begin with, they just faked being so because there wasnt a quick, easy way to lose weight.”
I believe the internet is reacting so intensely to Barbie’s physical changes because of their experience with previously triggering content online. Any sort of weight loss is tagged as “ed2 content,” without considering whether it’s healthy or not.
Some want to point out the hypocrisy of being proud of your appearance and then changing said appearance. But it raises the same question – why should the internet be commenting on someone else’s body? I would like to think those in the public eye like Ariana Grande and Barbie Ferreira would have someone in their life – friends, family, PR people even – who would be more equipped to have that discussion with them.
Last year, Ariana made it clear on TikTok that “there are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful.”
“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies — no matter what,” Grande said. “If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is. Healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy, I don’t…We just shouldn’t. We should really work towards not doing that as much.”
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I’m not sure there’s a good way around this paradox: the celebrity gets skinny, and either their audience says something about it, discouraging the change, or their audience says nothing about it and “encourages” the change.
But are thousands of comments about a celebrity’s physical appearance going to make a difference? If the person wants to ignore it, they will. If the person is currently working through it or not ready to speak about, it could make things worse.
There’s a place on the internet for promoting healthy lifestyles and realistic body standards. But it seems to me a lot of the negative feedback about skinniness revolves more around how a celebrity’s weight affects their audience rather than the celebrity’s actual wellbeing.
Is it the internet’s place to comment on other people’s bodies? I don’t think so.
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⚠️ What I’m Doing: I know I said no newsletter this week last week, but I felt like this one was time sensitive. I want to acknowledge that this is a very, very nuanced topic and a lot more could be said about it. For now, I hope this will do.
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edtwt: a side of Twitter encouraging eating disorders
ed: shorthand for eating disorder