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Ariana Grande is the latest celebrity addressing discourse over their size — and her words are an important reminder that, in most circumstances, comments about someone’s body are better left unsaid.
On TikTok Tuesday, the “Positions” singer, 29, told fans concerned about her thinner figure that “there are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful” and that her previous physical appearance was “the unhealthiest version of my body.”
“I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy,” she said. “But that in fact wasn’t my healthy.”
Grande reminded her followers that “you never know what someone is going through” and to refrain from commenting on other people’s bodies.
“Even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with,” Grande said. “So, be gentle with each other and with yourselves.”
Experts agree even well-intentioned comments on someone’s looks do more harm than good. Here’s why they need to stop.
Body comments have mental health impact, experts say
Grande isn’t the only celebrity who’s spoken out about comments over their body. In October 2021, Adele told Vogue she was “disappointed” over the “brutal conversations” about her weight loss, and, that same month, Jonah Hill urged his Instagram followers to refrain from commenting on his body after his weight loss.
“I know you mean well but I kindly ask that you do not comment on my body good or bad,” he wrote. “I want to politely let you know it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good.”
Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director at the Eating Recovery Center, previously told USA TODAY that commenting on someone’s weight reinforces the belief that someone’s appearance is the most important thing about them.
“These comments about how your body is acceptable or unacceptable, it reinforces again that you are not worth more than your body… and that you have to present yourself a certain way for the world to find you acceptable,” she said. “It just reinforces that sort of superficial, body-focused idea that we know is so painful and harmful for every single one of us, because we are so much more than this vessel that carries us.”
Ariana Grande addresses scrutiny of her weight: ‘The unhealthiest version of my body’
Wassenaar added that comments about someone’s body don’t just impact that person. They impact “every single person that lives in a body.”
Learn from Jonah Hill and stop commenting on people’s bodies, experts say
You ‘don’t know what anyone’s going through’
Another problem with commenting on someone’s looks is you “don’t know what anyone’s going through,” Chelsea Kronengold, communications lead at the National Eating Disorders Association, previously told USA TODAY. The Mayo Clinic lists myriad potential causes for weight loss, including mental health challenges like disordered eating as well as physical illnesses.
“Commenting on people’s bodies and weights is completely inappropriate – you don’t even know the intention behind it and what else is going on,” she said.
These comments can also be skinny- or fat-shaming, both of which, experts say, can lead to serious mental health issues, like lower self-esteem.
Alexis Conason, a clinical psychologist and author of “The Diet-Free Revolution,” previously told USA TODAY that anyone can struggle with negative body image, no matter their size. Because of this, she says it’s best to avoid commenting on people’s bodies, no matter if they’re skinny, fat or anywhere in between.
“Your body is no one else’s business, and if someone comments on your body, it’s more a reflection of them,” she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association’s toll-free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders.org/helpline. For 24/7 crisis situations, text “NEDA” to 741-741.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Jenna Ryu and Sara M Moniuszko
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