Recalling the time when she 'was given a perfect skinny thighs,' the actress feels sorry 'to anyone who ever saw pictures of me like that and wanted to be thin like me.'
- January 5, 2019
AceShowbiz - Jameela Jamil feels "gross" when she thinks about how magazine editors used to airbrush her image.
"The Good Place" actress is a vocal advocate of promoting body positivity in the media, and often condemns celebrities who use social media to promote diets or weight loss supplements or drinks.
Jameela has now opened up about her experiences with body-shaming, and in an interview for Red magazine's February 2019 issue, recalled how some of her early photoshoots were brazenly Photoshopped to the point where she couldn't recognise herself.
"When I first started out in this industry, I didn't know I was allowed to say no to airbrushing," she stated. "I was given a whiter face, a little English nose and perfect skinny thighs. It makes me feel gross. I'm sorry to anyone who ever saw pictures of me like that and wanted to be thin like me."
Jameela has long struggled with body image issues, having suffered from anorexia as a teenager. While she overcame her eating disorder as a young adult, she remains adamant that she still has body dysmorphia, a condition characterised by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own body part or appearance is severely flawed.
"I still suffer from body dysmorphia, I can't get rid of it. Something's wrong with my brain and I will rally against it for ever. I don't weigh myself any more, and I sort of judge my size on how my clothes fit, because I know that I'll never be able to see myself properly," the 32-year-old commented.
As part of her plans to combat body-shaming, Jameela has set up the Instagram account I Weigh, in which she invites people to forget their physical weight and consider the other ways they value themselves. The British star set up the page in early 2018 after spotting a photo online in which each of the Kardashian sisters' weights were estimated.
"It's the thing that's healed me the most. The incredible women and men who have supported each other and stood up for themselves have encouraged me to stand up for myself, too," she said of I Weigh.
