Taylor Lautner has taken to social media to chime in on an ongoing conversation surrounding speculation about Selena Gomez’s weight.
In case you didn’t know, Taylor and Selena dated briefly back in 2009, when Taylor was filming Twilight: New Moon, and Selena was filming Ramona and Beezus. Speaking to Seventeen back then, Selena called their fling “fun,” but confirmed that the two split because of media attention, saying, “I knew he had paparazzi following him and I had paparazzi following me. People were getting a little crazy about us.”
Following her recent appearance at the SAG Awards, Selena — who is now happily engaged to Benny Blanco — has sadly been the subject of a ton of online scrutiny around her weight.
On Feb. 24, Glamour published an opinion piece titled, “It’s Okay to Feel Hurt When Celebrities Lose Weight—but Let’s Unpack It,” with the title image being of Selena. The article stated that criticism of celebrities’ weight loss was ultimately contributing to the unfair judgment of people without accounting for what may or may not be going on in their lives. The writer, Alex Light, said, “If we want body neutrality—which I know I do!—we must give women the freedom to make decisions about their bodies without judgment.”
The following day, The View cohosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin agreed with the article’s statements about celebrities’ boundaries and defended Selena against the speculation occurring. “Why look to a complete stranger for inspiration?” asked Sunny. “You don’t know what’s going on in that person’s life. Selena Gomez suffers from lupus, so weight is a part of that condition. And so she may have lost this weight for her health condition.”
“And it’s none of your business!” Whoopi added enthusiastically, before continuing on to explain that celebrities’ choices were nobody’s decision but their own.
And yesterday, Selena’s ex Taylor posted a statement on Instagram echoing the sentiment. Sharing a side-by-side photoset of Selena, he wrote a lengthy message asking people to be “a little bit nicer.”
Under the images, Taylor wrote, “It’s a cruel world full of hate out there. You can never please everyone nor should you have to. In my experience it doesn’t make the words sting less, it just refocuses you onto what matters.”
He continued, saying, “And it sure isn’t the shape, color, or appearance of your body. Daily reminder to all of us to not forget how beautiful you are inside and out.”
He then reminded people to “be a little bit nicer,” and added the 2011 Selena Gomez & The Scene song “Who Says” to the post, which fans will remember was all about loving yourself for who you are.
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