Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Lawrence and More Stars Speak Candidly About Being Body-Shamed

It’s a tale as old as Hollywood — stars share stories of being shamed for not having the ‘right’ bodies.

Alicia Silverstone

In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, the Clueless actress recalled being trolled about her body in the 1990s — including by that publication itself, which compared her to Babe the pig! “You’re just a little person and trying to grow up in front of people,” the 49-year-old said. “For any human, it’s an awkward time.” Still, she has a healthy attitude, saying, “That was not easy, for sure, but it’s all fine. Nothing to lose sleep over.”

David Harbour

One of the stranger things the 50-year-old has encountered in his career was being asked to audition to play The Blob in the X-Men franchise. “OK well, that’s flattering,” he told The Wrap when a casting agent approached him. But, assured the role included a fat suit, he went for it. After what he thought was a successful audition, David jokingly lifted his shirt, saying, “I got your Blob right here!” Wrong move: The director later sat him down and told him producers were “worried” about his health. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute … You are telling me I’m too fat to play The Blob?!’”

Ariana Grande

Even stars who are slim get called out for their weight. The Wicked actress took to TikTok in 2024 to address body-shaming about her petite physique. “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies no matter what,” the 32-year-old said. “There are ways to compliment someone, or to ignore something that you see that you don’t like, that I think we should help each other work towards. We should aim at being safer and keeping each other safe.”

Jennifer Lopez

She’s famous for her curves, but even J.Lo didn’t escape pressure. The 56-year-old recalled a time in her career when her manager was urging her to shed pounds. “I was a dancer, and I was athletic,” the Bronx native (who fired that manager) said, adding, “I was like, ‘No I don’t. If I lose any more weight, it won’t be me.’ You know what I mean? It was a fight. It was definitely a fight,” per E! News.

Jennifer Lawrence

“I was young. It was just the kind of s**t that actresses have to go through,” the 35-year-old told Harper’s Bazaar U.K. of her early days in the business. “Somebody told me I was fat, that I was going to get fired if I didn’t lose a certain amount of weight.” Worse, she was given nearly nude pics of herself as “motivation” to diet. Years later, after winning an Oscar in 2013, she could still feel the pain. “I was a little girl. It hurt. It doesn’t matter what accolades you get.”