Kelly Clarkson is getting real about overcoming body image issues.
The American Idol alum appeared on the latest episode of the Glamour Unfiltered interview series where she discussed the ridiculous physical standards set for female performers in the music industry and how she was able to find personal happiness in her own skin through her years in the spotlight.
Related: Kelly’s Marital Problems Got Worse After ‘Constant Time Together’ In Quarantine
The topic was brought up as interviewer Josh Smith drew comparisons to Adele and the scrutiny she faced over her weight at different points during her career. Adding how much she can relate, Kelly said:
“I’ve had this discussion with many females in the industry. I felt more pressure from people actually when I was thin, when I was really thin and not super healthy because I just was worn out, just working so hard and not keeping healthy habits. But I felt more pressure. It was more of magazines shoved in front of you and, ‘This is what you’re competing with and we’ve got to compete with it.’ I can’t compete with that. That’s not even my image. That’s not who I am. That’s who they are. We’re all different and it’s okay. I fought more when I was thinner than I do now, because now I just walk in and I just look at them like, ‘I dare you to say something.’ I’m happy in my life. I’ll work on me in my time!”
Preach, sister! Screw those unrealistic beauty standards!
We’re all beautiful and unique in our own ways and it’s unfortunate that women’s’ bodies, in particular, have always been policed in relation to their success. She continued recalling the painful memory where she would be shown images of nude stars:
“Naked! There would be a chick naked on the cover. I’m not joking, literally naked. I was like, ‘unless I’m doing an SNL skit and this is a comedy thing, I’m never going to pull it off!’ Even in my thinnest, most fit moment, it’s just not my personality to be naked on the front of a magazine. Mind you, my husband will tell you, I am totally okay with nudity. I think it is a beautiful thing. I think all of our bodies, whether you’re male or female, we were very beautiful beings.”
(Side note: that bit about her husband Brandon Blackstock‘s support is interesting now in retrospect…)
For the record, she noted Adele is a “goddess” who is “just physically captivating” and applauded her (or anyone else’s) decision to lose weight for their personal health, and “that doesn’t change how many times I listened to her record.”
She elaborated more on that sentiment while drawing parallels to herself, explaining she was hired for her successful gig on The Voice regardless of her size:
“Honestly, at my heaviest point, I was hired to be on The Voice. I got on the number one television show at my heaviest point, because it was right after I had kids and it was like they didn’t care. Paul [Telegdy] hired me from NBC because he loved my personality, he loved that I connect with people and I’m really raw and real. It had nothing to do with my sex appeal or my look aesthetically. It had to do with me as a person. I think it’s really up to artists to force people to have that mentality.”
Clarkson also offered some more sage advice on loving yourself, which she sings about on her brand new single, I Dare You:
“Until you can love yourself and love who you are, I don’t think that you’re capable of applying it to others. You’re just holding yourself back and you’re risking beautiful relationships that you could have with people because you just still haven’t worked out your own damage.”
YASSSS!
Hear more from Kelly, including how she’s balancing quarantine and her duties as a working mom, among other in-depth issues in the full clip (below):
[Image via WENN/Instar/YouTube]
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