Like it or not, social media has given everyone a platform to be heard -- including the haters. Celebrities are not immune to this phenomenon and, given their larger reach, likely get insensitive and downright mean comments way more than any of us civilians.
These celebrities know that it's useless to fight hate with more hate, however, and used their influence to spread messages of love and acceptance instead.
Gina Rodriguez: "To come to a place where I love the skin I am in and it isn’t defined by anyone’s expectations ... is beyond freeing.”
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We were already obsessed with Gina Rodriguez thanks to "Jane the Virgin," but this makes us love her even more. The actress has previously opened up about living with Hashimoto's disease and thyroid disease, both of which affect one's metabolism. Rodriguez shared a powerful statement on Instagram while posting a skin-baring shot from a Cosmopolitan shoot. "My struggle with health and weight and body acceptance in this industry has been a loving, painful, growing, exposing, vulnerable and incredible journey,” she wrote.
Amber Riley: "Let my big a** live!"
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Sure, "Glee" star Amber Riley's message of loving herself as she is may have been fueled by her post-dental-surgery state, but that doesn't mean her message should be ignored. In an Instagram video, she said, "I’ve got some things I need to get off my chest: Why does me being fat offend so many people? Is it because I’m confident, I’m fly, and I’m sexy? Why?"
Zendaya: "#thickgirlswinning #skinnygirlswinning #weallwinning"
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After an actress tweeted that she was looking a little small at the 2016 Kids Choice Awards, Zendaya responded on Twitter with some choice words. "Do you find this funny?" she said in her first tweet, before continuing in the next, "Now ... everyone go look in the mirror at their beautiful body, and love that shit."
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Chloë Grace Moretz: "It's time we all stop hiding behind keyboards pretending we know even the smallest thing about the people we judge."
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After getting comments that she was "fat" and "masculine," actress Chloë Grace Moretz took matters into her own hands and addressed it on Twitter. "Sit back before you fire away commenting ignorant things and imagine the real HUMAN BEING you are commenting about," she wrote. "He or she is a PERSON, with feelings and thoughts and a life that you are affecting so negatively."
Selena Gomez: "I love being happy with me."
While being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on the radio, Selena Gomez took some time to talk about the negative comments she received on a pretty innocuous Instagram photo.
“You know what’s interesting? I posted this photo on Instagram and I was like, ‘There’s more to love and I’m happy with myself,’” she told Seacrest. “The reason why I did that was ‘cause I didn’t want them to win. ‘Cause then the next day, it wasn’t about how I gained weight, it was about how I embraced it, and that’s just kind of my approach.” Hell yeah.
“You know what’s interesting? I posted this photo on Instagram and I was like, ‘There’s more to love and I’m happy with myself,’” she told Seacrest. “The reason why I did that was ‘cause I didn’t want them to win. ‘Cause then the next day, it wasn’t about how I gained weight, it was about how I embraced it, and that’s just kind of my approach.” Hell yeah.
Kesha: "Not a slave to perfection right now."
In the midst of an extensive legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke this spring, singer Kesha kept her cool on social media, shutting down haters left and right. Under a March Instagram photo, she wrote, "body shamers please fuck off ain’t nobody got time for it.”
A few months later in June, the "Timber" singer came back with a few more bikini shots and a message of positivity for her fans: "Thank god I’m in a place in my life where I feel empowered to address your nasty comments instead of letting them destroy me. so. on behalf of anyone anywhere who struggles with body image, STOP IT. My body is not your business."
A few months later in June, the "Timber" singer came back with a few more bikini shots and a message of positivity for her fans: "Thank god I’m in a place in my life where I feel empowered to address your nasty comments instead of letting them destroy me. so. on behalf of anyone anywhere who struggles with body image, STOP IT. My body is not your business."
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Ariel Winter: “Don’t let anyone’s comments allow you to think less of yourself.”
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"Modern Family" star Ariel Winter was just trying to hang out on a boat with her nieces when she got hit with a barrage of negative comments on her body. She hopped back on Instagram to spread awareness about the damage that negative labels can have on women. “You are not asking for anything because of what you are wearing -- you are expressing yourself and don’t you ever think you deserve the negativity as the consequence to what you are wearing -- YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL,” she wrote.
Daisy Ridley: “I will not apologize for how I look, what I say and how I live my life.”
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Daisy Ridley wasn't having it after she caught wind of a meme featuring her "Star Wars" character saying, "“I can’t believe the unrealistic expectations I’m setting for young girls. Who cast me anyway? Don’t they know real women have curves?”
Ridley wrote back, "“‘Real women’ are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave, have families, don’t have families. I am a ‘real women’ [sic] like every other woman in this world.”
Ridley wrote back, "“‘Real women’ are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave, have families, don’t have families. I am a ‘real women’ [sic] like every other woman in this world.”
Melissa McCarthy: “There are so many more intriguing things about women than their butt or their this or their that."
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Tons of people were talking about how "Ghostbusters" actress Melissa McCarthy lost some weight, but the subject couldn't interest her less. In an interview with Refinery 29, she broke it down: “I have [lost weight], but I’ll be back again. I’ll be up, I’ll be down, probably for the rest of my life. The thing is, if that is the most interesting thing about me, I need to go have a lavender farm in Minnesota and give this up.”
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Ariana Grande: “The things that make us different from one another make us BEAUTIFUL.”
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After a commenter said they'd prefer Ariel Winter to Ariana Grande because "curves are sexy sticks aren't," the "Focus" singer went on social media to spread love instead of hate. She wrote, “here we go again ... Sure I’m not the only 1 feeling this way today!! In case you need a reminder, you’re beautiful.” Winter responded to Grande's message, writing, "Women should empower one another."
Rowan Blanchard: “The only ‘dieting tip’ I have is, like, if you don’t order fries, you’ll probably be mad.”
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We wish we had a BFF like Rowan Blanchard to get us through our teen years. The "Girl Meets World" actress once spoke to Elle about the ridiculous questions she gets as a young female star: “Someone recently asked if I had any dieting tips for other teenage girls. Try and reverse that. ‘Do you have any dieting tips for other teenage boys?’”
Anna Paquin: "I'm neither so thanks for that."
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Does a loose-fitting dress mean that someone is pregnant? In the weird world of Hollywood, many think so. Actress Anna Paquin was quick to shut down that idea after a premiere of "The Good Dinosaur" that she attended. “Fun fact: Wearing a dress that is not skintight=Pregnant/invites people 2 call u fat. I’m neither so thanks 4 that,” she wrote.
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Gigi Hadid: "I'm human, and I'm not going to lie, I did let the negativity get to me a little."
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Even though she's an it girl now, model Gigi Hadid has insecure moments just like the rest of us. Being the center of attention has also made the 21-year-old the center of criticism. In a heartfelt Instagram post, she addressed the haters: "Yes, I have boobs. Yes, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m fitting into the sample sizes." She finished the post by writing, "I've said it before ... I hope everyone gets to a place in their life where they'd rather talk about the things that inspire them over the things that bring others down."
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