Nasty Comments about Celeb's Weight Hurt Fans

Writers cross the line from harmless entertainment to cruelty and dangerous messages. In the mind of a writer of a magazine or newspaper, photographers and any type of media, they see celebrities as follows: “Celebrities’ feelings are not hurt when they hear negative comments about their weights. It is their job to look good and stay in shape. They are rich, self-centered, like the fame, and they signed up for it, so therefore, they need to stop being so sensitive when people point and laugh when they see that celebrities are not so perfect after all.” But what should be on their mind is, celebrities are human! They shouldn’t be judged by how many pounds they gain. The appearance of celebrities is something that is refined to make them look appealing on the television. The media thinks it is what people want to see, but what people want to see is their talent. After all, that is the reason why they became famous.

Many celebrities get their pictures taken whether they like it or not. They are mostly taken in bad moments, because tabloids always want to find any tiny negative issue and exaggerate on details to sell their story. Recently, the issue is celebrities not maintaining their shaped figures and tabloids going overboard on their comments, which harms both celebrities and fans self-esteem.

In an article in “The Huffington Post,” actress Jennifer Love Hewitt felt very strong about the pictures taken of her in Hawaii while wearing a bikini.

“This is the last time I will address this subject. I've sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women's bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I'm not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image. A size two is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size zero doesn't make you beautiful. What I should be doing is celebrating some of the best days of my life and my engagement to the man of my dreams, instead of having to deal with photographers taking invasive pictures from bad angles. I know what I look like, and so do my friends and family. And like all women out there should, I love my body. To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini, put it on and stay strong.”

Many fans look up to their celebrities and want to look like them, so if they read in a magazine or see on television something negative said about them, they will take it personal and say they were fat all along. According to a teen health article in About.com, television and movies are the reason why 54 percent American girls and women aged 12 to 23 years old are unhappy with their bodies. About 5 to 10 million women and girls have eating disorders that harm their health such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa. It is ridiculous that so many women and girls go through so much insecurity at such an early age. What is needed to keep in mind is at age 12, girls are entering their adolescent years when puberty and self-esteem is developed. The media takes advantage of this and attacks these adolescent girls by exposing them to “perfect figures,” which can cause low self-esteem.

Role model Tyra Banks gained a few pounds throughout her career, but not as much as tabloids exaggerate. Pictures expose her huge thighs with cellulites oozing out of her bathing suit. They were disgusted and disappointed at the fact Banks would tell models how to look and she couldn’t maintain her model figure herself.

“It was really hurtful to me. I get so much mail from young girls who say, ‘I look up to you, you’re not as skinny as everyone else, I think you’re beautiful,’” Banks says. “So when they say that my body is ‘ugly’ and ‘disgusting,’ what does that make those girls feel like?”

To avoid any conflict about the news of her weight gain, in “The Tyra Banks Show,” Banks had an episode of overweight teenage girls who have eating disorders and tried helping them by giving them advice of how their disease can be treated. Self-esteem expert Jessica Weiner, who suffered from eating disorders, says recovery can take many shapes in someone’s life, but many that recover are healthier than ever.

Oprah Winfrey was known for having thyroids at some time in her career. In “O The Oprah Magazine,” in January 2009, Winfrey wrote an article called “How Did I Let This Happen Again.” She expresses her struggle of her eating disorder and the depression she was going through and tells the public how she was able to overcome her goal of not wanting to be thin, but of becoming healthy and strong.

“My goal isn't to be thin. My goal is for my body to be the weight it can hold—to be strong and healthy and fit, to be itself. My goal is to learn to embrace this body and to be grateful every day for what it has given me.”

Every women needs to take this into consideration, especially coming from a celebrity who is a woman that has been through all the trouble of low self-esteem. Celebrities are humans too and no human would want to be put on the spot for his or her augmentation in weight. It not only affects celebrities, but also their fans and their self-esteem.

So people, and by people, celebrities fall under that general category too, gain weight and lose weight. The media should only critique celebrities’ performances, voices, dance skills, and their character and how they express it through their work, because their talent is what makes them famous and their effort is what makes them a great role model.