Are Tara Reid’s followers body shaming her, or do they have her best interests at heart?
To be sure, the comments section on a celeb’s post can get pretty nasty and invasive, fast. Fans may think they’re expressing genuine concern, but Instagram isn’t really an appropriate forum for that. A short comment by a stranger is always just going to come across as shaming — and Tara definitely didn’t appreciate having randos making judgments on her weight.
Related: Model Claims Nutritionist Put Her On ‘Bathwater Meth’ To Lose Weight For Victoria’s Secret
The issue arose on Wednesday when the actress posted a set of black-and-white bikini pics (taken by pal Taryn Manning) with the caption:
“Nothing better then your friend taking hot artsy pics of you in Palm Springs aka @tarynmanning “
View this post on Instagram
The 45-year-old admittedly looks very thin in the photos, and people took notice, commenting:
“So thin! I hope you are ok. ”
“This looks very scary and unhealthy”
“Omg eat something”
“What the hell happened to you???”
“You need better friends Tara.”
“Please get help.”
Wow, some of the responses were definitely more rude than others. Sure, there may have been some concern there, but overall the message just reads as a wave of body shaming.
Related: Rebel Wilson Opens Up About Public Obsession With Her Weight Loss Journey
The feedback obviously got under the Sharknado star’s skin, as she herself commented:
“Stop hating and start loving no one needs to be body shaming it’s not right it’s not cool and it hurts people. Please don’t be one of those people, it does have an affect”
The photographer and Orange is the New Black alum jumped in the conversation as well:
“I love you my super hero. If only they knew your heart and soul they would feel terrible deliberately trying to hurt you proud of you. I would do anything for your washboard abs BTW “
Despite IG users trying to reassure that there was “no hate, just concern,” the former child star clapped back with another bikini shot — this time in full color. She added a note:
“To all who made their great comments exposing their hate for my artsy picture I posted yesterday, it was the angle. Here is another picture from yesterday to show you I am not too skinny, I have a high metabolism. Anyone with a high metabolism understands it’s impossible to gain weight. All I do is eat. To everyone who wrote something nice and stuck up for me, I love you! And keep spreading that love, it is the only thing that will save this world.”
She concluded by adding the hashtags “#spreadlove #love #nohate #ilovefood #TaraReid.”
View this post on Instagram
We totally get why Tara would draw a boundary on this subject. If she says she’s healthy, all these folks who don’t know her need to take her word for it.
Remember, even if it comes from a place of genuine concern, think about how your comment will be received by someone getting hit by dozens, even hundreds of them — many worded much more harshly.
Be conscientious social media users out there, y’all!
[Image via Guillermo Proano/WENN & Tara Reid/Instagram]