Popular influencer (and now actress) Dolly Singh, with an impressive fan following of more than 1.6 million on Instagram, impressed us all with her acting debut with the film ‘Thank You For Coming.’ However, recently she shared a poignant note on dealing with body shaming and her long journey of accepting her body.

There is no denying that Dolly Singh has always been vocal about feeling insecure about her body. On May 15, 2024, the social media influencer took to her Instagram handle and shared a moving note, stating, “I hope I am someone’s safe space”.

In her picture note, Dolly opened up about her experience of being skinny and always worrying about her fluctuating weight. She wrote: “Like most people, my weight fluctuates too. Being on the naturally Skinny side of the spectrum, I tend to lose weight easily (when I don’t want to), and it’s hard to put it back on. Last few months of finishing up the house, adulting and stressing took away the few good kgs I had gained over the last few years.

Honestly, this time I wasn’t worry about it. I know that if 1 get back on my routine, workout, eat on time and with intention, I’ll slowly get there. There is no hurry. I love my body now. I love my body in every state because it supports me. However, I have come to believe that and honestly, I feel proud about that. I have grown up despising my body shaming, hating every bit of it, so this…is growth.”

She added, “But as much as I have accepted it to shapeshift every now and then, people around me don’t. And the other day, as I was about to go see someone, I decided against it because I realized they’re not my safe space. That I’m sure they’ll have something to say about my weight. About my lost ‘glow’ or whatever term they’d wanna use to make me believe it’s out of care (maybe it is, but keep it to yourself unless asked).”

Dolly Singh further elaborated, “It doesn’t hurt the 30 year old me, but the 13 year old? It takes me back to the bad days sometimes. Anyway, point is, I realised that there are only a few people and places in my life where I can go however I want to, it doesn’t matter what I look like, what I am wearing or what my weighing scale says, I will receive love. My home is still not one. Maybe someday. If you could do something today, try to be someone’s safe space. And count your own blessings of people in your life who don’t care about the kgs fluctuating but the smiles on your face.”

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This is not the first time that a celeb or an influencer has come out in the open and spoken about being body-shammed in public and trolled on their social media.

Kusha Kapila

Actress and content creator Kusha Kapila, who recently had a transformation and has gone on the fitter side, has faced body shaming throughout her life. In her previous interview, she revealed that she and her sister had issues with their weight and when they hit puberty, they gained weight. Even her mother, in her mid-30s, gain weight, and they would collectively get fat-shame. She recalled being call “Moti maa, moti betiya…”. She mentioned how her mother used to measure her and her sister’s weight every week as well.

Prableen Kaur Bhomrah

Beauty and fashion influencer Prableen Kaur Bhomrah is known for her body-positive content. She breaks the norms and old-age thinking that girls can only look good in a mirror-glass figure. Her content revolves around changing the mindset and inspiring women to accept their bodies just the way it is. In one of her posts, Prableen shared a big note on how trolls and body shaming have made her stronger and accepted the way it is. She wrote, “I don’t know about you but hating my body didnt get me very far.

Hating my body lead me to constantly doubt myself, compare myself, find myself using tons of filters and hold myself back from embracing my true body because I didn’t think I was worth it! Now let’s think about how far LOVING my body has got me. It’s help me build my dream life with my dream career, incredible friendships and have newfound strength and confidence within myself. It also made me realise how I should be working on my body for myself rather than for the perception of others.”

Komal Pandey

Fashion influencer Komal Pandey became part of online trolling and that too on her birthday. After Komal shared exotic pictures of her on Instagram, looking flawless in a yellow outfit, she was shocked to see the comment section filled with negative remarks calling her “anorexic” and “malnourished”. However, she smacked trollers with the ultimate response! She penned a long note on her Instagram story about living a “highly health-conscious lifestyle” and having a “dedicated nutritionist who carefully designs her diet.” Komal also stated that she exercises regularly and is guide by an expert trainer. She wrote, “She wrote, “It is important to understand that everyone’s body is unique and responds differently to various lifestyles. It is very important to avoid making assumptions or using derogatory terms such as anorexic or suggesting that I may have an eating disorder. Such labels/false claims are hurtful.”

Sameera Reddy

Actress turned influencer Sameera Reddy, known as ‘Messy Mama’ on Instagram and who has always been vocal about dealing with body shaming, recently shared her experience of how maintaining her appearance impacted her mental and physical health. She reportedly shared, “As a teenager, I was a chubby girl. Furthermore, feeling different from what I believe ‘beautiful’ was supposed to be. The definition of being beautiful is something all young girls struggle with. Besides, after becoming an actor, my insecurities multiplied a hundredfold. It reached a point where I experienced self-loathing.

The scrutiny I imposed on myself was more severe than the scrutiny I received from others. Many times, I risked my mental and physical health to maintain a certain size. I did the most ridiculous things, such as trying fad diets and working out endlessly post-shoot. What I did back then has resulted in hormonal imbalances now. The consequences catch up with age, and today I’m saddened by the choices I made. Back then, I didn’t feel I had any other option, and in a competitive market. Moreover, you do what you think is right because you believe it’s necessary.”

Neha Parulkar

Plus-size and proud of it. We are talking about Neha Parulkar, who is a popular model and fashion influencer. Neha, in one of her old posts, mention that there has never been a single day when she hadn’t been body shamed. She wrote, “I am so happy to see that people on social media are raising their voices and coming forward and speaking their mind. Moreover, whether protecting or opposing keeping in mind the current situation of #India. It takes courage to voice your opinion.

It takes more courage to take a stand. But what surprises me is; if you can gather the courage and have the strength. Besides, to stand against some injustice that you see around you. Furthermore, how can you not stand up for yourself against the battle of #BodyShaming. Isn’t that important too? Standing up, being courageous, giving it back to the haters? Why are we openly voicing out on social problems? Because we know that there might be someone or the other who might understand what we saying. And why don’t we do that for ourselves?

Because we are still afraid that the society won’t understand or support. But did we care what people might think when we voiced our opinions and took a stand for our views? No we didn’t. We went ahead and did/shared/commented/supported what we FELT was right. So why do we hesitate doing the same for our own life? Our own body? All this only means that we do possess #courage and #strength , we just don’t use it to our full potential. It’s NEVER TOO LATE to stand up for yourself, your identity, your body shaming, your life. It’s yours and you have to protect it!”

Sakshi Sidhwani

Fashion influencer Sakshi Sidhwani in one of her previous interviews shared. However, how on her first video itself she was being trolled and body shamed. She was quoted, “My first series on Instagram Reels, which was about breaking fashion stereotypes, originated from hate comments. I was wearing a crop top and someone wrote something along the lines that I was looking too flabby and my stomach shouldn’t show. So that comment inspired a whole series where I agree with the troll that yes. However, a girl like me shouldn’t be wearing this and then in the next frame I am being my boss self.”