Social media has made stars more accessible than ever, with fans now able to reach their favorite celebrities with a comment on their posts.
However, this has also opened the floodgates to bashing — and more often than not, netizens fail to realize the implications of their words on the other side of the screen.
This rang true for actress Jessy Mendiola after she was voted as FHM Philippines’ sexiest woman in 2016.
“When I won FHM’s sexiest woman in 2016, I thought… finally, people appreciate my efforts and my body. But I was wrong,” she wrote in an Instagram post on her recent weight loss.
“I was bullied, body shamed with bashers calling me names like ‘pata (thigh), baboy (pig), taba (fat), etc.”
She revealed that at the time, she had been working out regularly and “ate what I felt was good for me.”
Her picture shows her radiant with a slim and naturally curvy figure. However, the negative comments made her doubt herself.
“I felt really down and started losing my confidence. I loved myself then (big thighs, belly rolls and round face) but when people started pointing out my flaws, I started hating myself, at times even thinking I was a bad person for having ‘thunder thighs,’” she said.
“I stopped working out, I got depressed, binge ate my feelings off and started gaining more weight than I should,” she added. “I didn’t even want to be seen on TV anymore, I started turning down roles and it affected my work.”
Mendiola has recently been missing from the silver screen; she was a regular in the gag show “Banana Sundae” until July 2017.
She eventually picked herself up: “I realized, why should I feel so bad about myself when I loved myself even before I was called ‘sexiest’?”
“I started building myself up again despite what other people say (until now they call me names) and have lost 15 lbs since,” the actress wrote.
She credits her weight loss to a new type of workout customized to her body type and eating moderately.
“I may not be the sexiest for others, but I am sexy and beautiful for myself, that alone is enough,” she declared. “Love yourself, love your body and it will love you back.”
Mendiola has been vocal about body-shaming along with other female celebrities who have stood up for themselves against bashers. Actresses Bela Padilla and Iza Calzado have clapped back at being told they have imperfect beach bodies, while Sarah Lahbati and Saab Magalona have criticized comments against pregnant women. JB
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