While celebrities enjoy a legion of fans online, they unfortunately also have to deal with a lot of negativity that comes their way. Body shaming is just one of them. Even singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, who is worth $200-240 million, isn’t bereft of being body shamed by people online. But Grande didn’t stay silent. She clapped back at those who shamed her by giving an appropriate response. Now, an IFBB Pro bodybuilder has shown his solidarity with her.
Greg Doucette is a Canadian bodybuilder who also happens to be an author and influencer with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in kinesiology. He recently shared his opinion on the ongoing backlash Ariana Grande has been receiving online over her supposedly thin appearance.
Ariana Grande is in fact in the best health of her life
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Greg Doucette posted a YouTube video on his channel recently titled, “I’m Sick Of This!! Ariana Grande”. In it, he shows a New York Post article, whose headline reads, “Ariana Grande blasts body-shaming fans: ‘Healthy can look different'”. Doucette mentions that for a long time, people praised Grande for how she looked. And only recently they have started criticizing her after she lost some weight. Words like ‘thin’ and ‘skinny’ have been used to describe her way too frequently.
Ariana Grande blasts body-shaming fans: ‘Healthy can look different’ https://t.co/4VmlDnt8H4 pic.twitter.com/un0MrNtb0Q
— New York Post (@nypost) April 13, 2023
Ariana Grande has had enough, and she posted a TikTok video urging everyone to take it easy on her and be more gentle with the subject. Doucette said, “In actuality, she is much healthier now. She said so,” showing her support for Grande for being the way she is. Doucette believes that people may not necessarily have ill intentions when they comment about her weight and ask her to eat more. They believe, if only she listened to them and ate more, she would be healthier. But the reality is different.
Doucette said, “But she felt worse, and was less healthy when in fact she was bigger”. Doucette also mentioned that years ago, when she weighed more, she was taking anti-depressants and drinking alcohol. It wasn’t better for Grande then.
Pre-existing notions about a healthy body need not necessarily be true
Grande said in the TikTok video, “I know personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body”. This shows the importance of standing up to body shamers. It’s not just to defend one’s self-worth and dignity, but also to inform the less-informed. That the pre-existing prejudice about a healthy body need not necessarily be true for everyone. Doucette, who has previously dismissed Joe Rogan’s claim about calorie burns, says that she is in a much better place now, contrary to what many people might think.
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Grande was last photographed in London with actress and singer-songwriter Cynthia Arevo and Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum. This is when all the body shaming started. However, Grande’s response, backed by other personalities like Greg Doucette, might be the appropriate stance needed on this.
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