Kelly Clarkson's Response to Criticism of Her Weight Deserves a Standing Ovation
Kelly Clarkson is back on the scene with a new album after taking time off to get married, have a baby and enjoy life away from the spotlight. Unfortunately, the "Stronger" singer's return has come with nasty remarks about her appearance.
One of her loudest critics is the cantankerous British celeb Katie Hopkins, who slammed Clarkson on Twitter after a performance on the U.K. late night show The Graham Norton Show in late February. Hopkins' remarks pulled out some of the worst punchlines about a person's weight:
But Clarkson has refused to let people like Hopkins dictate how she feels about herself. In a recent interview with Heat magazine, Clarkson shrugged off the fat-shaming remarks.
"I've just never cared what people think. It's more if I'm happy and I'm confident and feeling good, that's always been my thing," she said. "And more so now, since having a family — I don't seek out any other acceptance."
Clarkson topped off her comments with the inspiring advice she plans on eventually sharing with her 8-month-old daughter, River Rose, and her 13-year-old stepdaughter Savannah: "You need to be happy with who you are and, whoever that is, let your little light shine."
Right on, Kelly.
She's making an excellent point. Clarkson's rebuttal makes it clear that no one's health or well-being is determined by their appearance. It's much more important to feel positive about one's body image, rather than succumbing to weight loss pressure. Indeed, health and beauty can be found at every size, contrary to popular myths and normalized discrimination against fat people.
Notably, Hopkins conducted a so-called experiment last year where she consumed 6,500 calories a day for several weeks in an attempt to gain 50 pounds and subsequently lose it all again. Done for the controversial January special on TLC called Fat and Back, Hopkins sought out to demonstrate that there are "no excuses for being overweight," and that fat people are actually miserable.
"I don't believe you can be fat and happy. I think that's just a cop-out," she once said in an interview on the Irish talk program The Late Late Show. "It's living a lie. It's not having the balls to cope with things and make a conscious effort to say, 'I'm going to do something about the state I've gotten myself in.'"
But fat-shaming simply doesn't work. In fact, stunts like Hopkins' often run counterintuitive to others' health and well-being. As Mic's Julianne Ross noted, research has shown that people who encounter weight-based discrimination or teasing are more likely to become or remain obese. Additionally, one recent study from UCLA found that girls who are told by family members, friends, classmates or teachers that they're "too fat" at age 10 are more likely to be obese at age 19.
That's why Clarkson's response matters, as well as the lesson she plans to teach her daughters. And her words of positivity are something we all can live by.
h/t Huffington Post
