The media and certain celebrities have focused a lot recently on body positivity, but if we’re being honest, most of the conversations have centered around not judging female celebrities (and regular people) based on how thin and in shape they are (or aren’t).
It can feel like men are still fair game when it comes to tabloids and others pointing out “dad bods” or commenting on how they’ve “let themselves go” since this film or that, and it’s really not fair, right?
Actor Jonah Hill has often been the target of those negative comments, and for his part, he’s had enough.
He’s recently been on a weight loss journey that’s been getting a lot of attention, but recently he’s asked everyone to just stop commenting on his body, whether they’re thinking that their comments are positive or not.
The actor’s weight has fluctuated throughout his career, sometimes because of roles but other times not, and back in 2018 he spoke with Ellen DeGeneres about how he’s struggled.
“I became famous in my late teens and then spent most of my young adult life listening to people say that I was fat and gross and unattractive. And it’s only in the last four years writing and directing my movie that I’ve started to understand how much that hurt and got into my head.”
Basically, he’s been working a long time to accept himself for who he is, no matter what he looks like – and to hold onto that no matter what the media says.
Last year, a paparazzi snapped a photo of him toweling off shirtless after a day of surfing, and Hill appeared unfazed, sharing a screenshot and a caption on Instagram.
In it, he talks about how liberating it is not to be shamed by photos or comments made by the media about his appearance.
Image Credit: Jonah Hill
That said, he would really like people to just…not. He doesn’t want praise for learning to accept his body, he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him over mean comments, he just doesn’t want people to comment at all.
He acknowledges that some people mean well, but that the comments don’t feel good and don’t help.
The post received several hundred thousand likes on Instagram, which seems to indicate that there are a lot of people out there who think commenting on other people’s bodies should be a thing of the past.
What do you think? Should this trend apply to men as well as women? Do celebrities just have to accept the fact that, being famous, they’ve basically opened themselves up to comments, good and bad?
Let’s have a discussion in the comments!
