Addison Rae is opening about how the negative comments she receives online have affected her mental health and self-image.
In a recent interview with Glamour UK, the 20-year-old TikToker, who also is the cover star of the magazine’s digital February issue, reflected on how most of the hurtful hate she receives has to do with her body. She shared:
“It’s a really hard thing to deal with when you’re a girl, especially going through your teens. I am 20 and my body is constantly changing, but people have this high standard around body image and say, ‘Oh, you have to look like this to look great or to look hot or to be cool or to be pretty.’”
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The former Louisiana State University student, who started on the social media app less than two years ago, continued:
“For me, a lot of people have said, ‘Oh I love how comfortable she is and she doesn’t look like the beauty standard.’ It’s a backhanded compliment sometimes because people will be like, ‘I’m so glad she’s confident that she doesn’t look perfect. It hurts sometimes when people say that because I think everyone’s perfect, so why is there some standard of ‘this body is the ideal body’? I have thought a lot in the past year that it doesn’t really define me and I am learning to love my body and who I am, for what I am.”
Ch-ch-check out her cover shot (below):
However, the He’s All That star admits that she often felt pressure to compare herself to others on social media — specifically those who tend to fall into society’s ideal beauty standards.
“I used to ask myself, ‘Why doesn’t my body look like that? Or why isn’t my hair that way? Or why is my face this way?’ Or even feature-wise, sometimes I would just really look at myself and pick myself apart for no reason. There is so much going on in the world today, adding self-esteem onto that is really tough. If you can’t mentally, emotionally, or physically love who you are it becomes really difficult to even be happy.”
Not that you need to be reminded since we are literally hit in the face with this everyday (yes, hi, Instagram), but the world’s perception of the “ideal” body is so toxic and whack! And it doesn’t help that social media and social media users, especially those who like to write about someone’s size, continue to push these harmful standards. SMH!
At least the influencer added that she learned to ease up and give her some space from the pressure.
“I know I’ve not been eating the best during quarantine or maybe not working out as much and watching a lot of TV, but we need to give ourselves grace.”
Addison went on to note that she’s been going to therapy to work on how to handle the negativity.
“Self-worth is a big thing that I’ve been working on the past few months because it’s definitely a real struggle, and it does affect you in your daily life, not having high self-worth. Therapy is a great way to work on that and it’s an outlet to speak on things that are bothering you internally. Just being able to have someone to talk to has been a big thing for me and understanding that if you let people understand you a little more, then they will.”
We couldn’t agree more! There’s nothing like a little therapy and self-work to help you figure things out. In terms of the negative comments, which the dancer mentions come from an understandable sense of “envy,” she tries not to let them bother her. The TikTok personality, who has over 76.5 million followers on the app, said she recognizes their resentment because she has felt that in the past, too.
“That doesn’t define me, and they don’t really truly know me in my heart. There’s going to be people that don’t like you and that want to tear you down, but you have to love yourself for who you are.”
As they say, haters are going to hate! Unfortunately, this is not the first time Addison has had to deal with body-shaming comments. In April of 2020, she had to address the recent influx of messages and videos online about her figure, tweeting:
“It definitely hurts to see people on my fyp calling me ‘a whale’ and saying ‘she’s fat now’ and I just want to encourage everyone who hears these things about themselves to love yourself!! If you are healthy and happy, do NOT listen to these hurtful comments. You are perfect.”
It definitely hurts to see people on my fyp calling me “a whale” and saying “she’s fat now” and I just want to encourage everyone who hears these things about themselves to love yourself!! if you are healthy and happy, do NOT listen to these hurtful comments. you are perfect.
— Addison Rae (@whoisaddison) April 22, 2020
Nothing but facts! How do U y’all feel about Addison’s honest and raw talk about body image? Think there might be something we can all learn from her? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Image via Addison Rae/Instagram]
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