Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian and a few of her sisters sparked criticism when she uploaded a series of videos to her Instagram Story in which Kendall Jenner and Khloé Kardashian repeatedly praise her for being so "skinny" that she looks "anorexic." Kardashian didn't hide her apparent delight at the comments and went on to share her exact weight in one of the clips. Many viewers were outraged and triggered, calling out the Kardashian-Jenners for giving credence to societal beauty standards as well as for joking about the decidedly unfunny topic of disordered eating.
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In the days following the controversial posts, several celebrities have added their voices to the backlash. On Tuesday, Jameela Jamil, who previously criticized Kardashian for promoting "appetite suppressant" lollipops, uploaded a text post to Instagram pointing out that the accomplishments of heroes like Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, and Malala Yousafzai are infinitely more important than their weights. The Good Place star, who started the "I Weigh" movement earlier this year encouraging people to seek value in internal qualities rather than external appearances, addressed the note to "the Kardashians. And every girl who looks to them for a reference of how to value themselves."
Later on Tuesday, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz reposted Jamil's post and took to her Instagram Story to share how Kardashian's videos had affected her. "Kim Kardashian saying what she weighs and her sister's complimenting her being so skinny is like eating my brain rn," she began. Beatriz noted how personally triggering it was for her to hear Kardashian's weight, saying she'd weighed the same once before, "right in the middle of a terrible relationship, and intense eating disorder, and I thought that I could be thinner and look even better. Everyone kept complimenting me on how I looked, and I felt desperate to stay at that weight. IT SUCKED," Beatriz wrote, advising her followers to seek help if the Kardashian-Jenners' comments were similarly affecting them.
Emmy Rossum also shared Jamil's post, then responded to Beatriz's initial Story post, writing, "I love you and I support you and you're beautiful and strong and powerful and a creative badass woman." She then shared her own reasons why hearing Kardashian's exact weight was triggering for her, and went on to lend her support and some self-care tips to followers. Rossum then ripped apart Kate Moss's oft-quoted line that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." She wrote "WRONG" of the quote and then listed a variety of delicious foods.
Though Kardashian's exact weight isn't exactly the issue here — and it's important to note that her healthiest weight will obviously differ from Beatriz and Rossum's based on a multitude of factors — the stars' main criticism is spot-on: It's dangerous for the Kardashian-Jenner sisters to be praising Kim for her physical appearance and weight loss, rather than for her overall health and well-being. The words they chose (as well as her reactions) were clearly triggering to plenty of people, and a focus on these other attributes would have set a much more empowering and healthier example for the family's millions of fans and followers.
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