Samira Wiley is speaking out about a time she was rudely body-shamed despite feeling confident AF!
The Handmaid’s Tale alum sat down for a candid conversation with People on Wednesday to promote a new partnership with One A Day’s Gratitude Project, a campaign that encourages people to appreciate themselves and their bodies.
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Not only is she excited to take part in such an important cause, but she’s coming to the mission with her own negative experiences with body shaming. The 34-year-old recalled an unfortunate photoshoot encounter that left her feeling terrible, sharing:
“I remember this one so vividly because [I] feel like I have a healthy body image, and I was on the shoot and one of the outfits they put me in, was something that showed a bit of midriff. And honestly, I thought it was fine. But someone on the set was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry. We can fix that in post.’”
Ugh. Those kinds of comments are so manipulative and unhelpful. Nobody should be commenting on people’s bodies unsolicited — and Samira learned that the hard way. Thankfully, Wiley was in a great place with her body image at the moment, so it didn’t “really put me in a horrible mood,” unlike it might affect others. Still, she had major frustrations, adding:
“But this is what I have to deal with?”
She was also horrified at how natural it is for photographers to edit bodies without telling viewers — creating serious mental health and body image issues for the next generation, saying:
“I can’t imagine what all of these young girls who are just looking at these magazines, and their perception is that this is reality and it’s not.”
That’s why she’s so grateful to be co-producing One A Day’s upcoming documentary The Gratitude Project, which seeks to share stories of real people treating their bodies with more kindness, both inside and out. The film will premiere in June at the Tribeca Film Festival. On what she hopes the movie does for viewers, the actress expressed:
“I feel like this was really asking the question of what does it look like to be grateful, not just [by] using your words. And I was really interested in that. It seemed to be really in line with the lessons that I feel I’ve learned throughout my life, and to be able to learn from all the people that we’re going to be featuring in the documentary as well … I’m just all about learning about that and about spreading this idea to anyone that it can touch.”
All of this is especially near-and-dear to the Orange Is The New Black star’s heart because of her past health struggles. When Wiley was 12, she was diagnosed with diabetes, but it took her more than 10 years to come to terms with the news. By the time she finally sought professional help to regain her health, she weighed less than 100 lbs. Whoa…
“I was in denial and I didn’t really take care of myself. And then I just got the idea that I now only got one [body] and I feel like it’s done so much for me, and I want to be able to take care of it as well.”
Speaking of her health journey, the Finch star reflected:
“I finally took the leap of faith to go see a doctor. And that really changed my life. I was able to really come to terms with the damage that I was doing to my body … I decided to make a change then. Sometimes I go back to the doctor and I’ll see the picture that they took the first day that I walked in there, versus how I look now. It just looks like a completely different person.”
So great that she got help!
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It took her some time, but once she was able to process and work through her complicated emotions about the diagnosis, she’s never looked back.
“I was really angry, but I think getting over that anger has helped me to be a healthier person.”
As a mom to 10-month-old daughter George Elizabeth, whom she shares with wife Lauren Morelli, Samira is determined to “lead by example and model really healthy behavior.” She hopes this film will be one thing her kiddo can look back on to learn and be inspired from, concluding:
“When I think about the documentary that we are going to make, that One A Day is spearheading, I think about her being able to see something like that one day and her knowing that I was involved in it, and her knowing that it’s something that is important to me. It’s also a different narrative than the one that may be abound when she’s conscious to that kind of thing.”
We can’t think of a better message to impart on her little one, though we hate that so many body shamers have created this problem in the first place. Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube]
The post <i>Handmaid's Tale</i> Star Samira Wiley Recalls Being Body Shamed During A Photo Shoot: 'We Can Fix That' appeared first on Perez Hilton.
