Lili Reinhart to people calling her pregnant: I will never apologize for my body

wenn34120619

While out and about with her boyfriend and Riverdale co-star, Cole Spruce, Lili Reinhart was photographed by some fans who posted photos. One of the photos in question was this:

Apparently some people on social media speculated that Lili was pregnant. I’m going to give Liliā€™s fans the benefit of the doubt and say that they probably wanted to see a baby bump more than anything else. Lili and Cole are darling together and fans must want them to marry and have babies. However, even if the fans’ intentions were pure, it didnā€™t sit well with Lili and she posted a series of comments on her Instagram Stories to tell folks why:

Itā€™s unfortunate that one unflattering photo of my stomach circulating the internet causes hundreds of people to think that Iā€™m pregnant.

Nope. Not pregnant.

This is just my body. And sometimes Iā€™m bloated. Sometimes and unflattering photo is taken of me. Sometimes I go through periods of time where I gain weight.

My body is something that I will NEVER apologize for.

My body will constantly go through change. And so will yours.
And thatā€™s fine.

So letā€™s not put so much time and effort into caring about a strangerā€™s figure.

Double fist-pump to not having to apologize for our bodies and for strangers finding something else to worry about. Lili just admitted to having major self-esteem issues because of her cystic acne. Being scrutinized for her figure must have been hard to take. That’s a cute dress Lili is wearing, Iā€™ll bet she walked out of the house thinking she looked cute, only to return to have that thought stomped on.

Liliā€™s co-star, Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge), came to her defense with her own Instagram Story:

Inspired by you @lilireinhart. I feel bloated 24/7, my weight fluctuates constantly ā€” it comes with being a woman and should be celebrated, not criticized.

I used to fear that day that people start publicly criticizing my body and commenting on my weight.

Iā€™ve suffered too much from my own self criticism and wasnā€™t sure that I could handle it from others. But seeing somebody as beautiful as Lili respond to public scrutiny by preaching and practicing self love is all it takes for me to overcome that fear. Proud to call her my friend. Letā€™s continue inspiring women to love their bodies.

Itā€™s breaking my heart to hear these beautiful people talking about how much they beat themselves up. Of course they do, Hollywood puts ridiculous standards on everyone but especially women. And on top of that, people feel they have the right to make negative comment on social media about them. I want to take both Lili and Camilaā€™s messages to heart ā€“ letā€™s all embrace ourselves for our personal beauty and screw those who canā€™t see it.

wenn33341226

wenn33983723

wenn34013066

Photo credit: WENN Photos and Twitter

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

31 Responses to “Lili Reinhart to people calling her pregnant: I will never apologize for my body”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. teehee says:

    I dont think anyone asks her to apologize though.
    I also have nearly non stop abdomen action but I dont htink anyone is wanting any kind of an apology about it. I myself am not so proud, but thats about it.

    • INeedANap says:

      The apology comes from the fact that a lot of folks assume a woman must have a flat stomach, else she’s pregnant or fat, and fat on a woman is considered a Really Bad Thing. So Lili’s point is that when asked if she was pregnant she would have to admit she is failing to maintain a flat stomach, which for many and especially many in Hollywood it means she is doing womanhood wrong.

      I bloat easily. I have had coworkers ask if I am pregnant. I always respond “nope, just fat!” and watch them get super uncomfortable.

  2. CidyKitty says:

    I feel her pain. I got asked by an old high school friend If I was expecting, and patiently had to explain that no – I was just bloated. Maybe we should stop assuming weight gain equals pregnancy or depression or sickness and just see it as a part of life that happens to all of us, weight is fluid and fluctuates just like most things.

    • Astrid says:

      I feel the pain too, in a round about way. Years ago a few weeks after I gave birth to my son, a well meaning neighbor asked me when my baby was due…that was a low moment

      • Kate says:

        But everyone still looks 6 months pregnant after they give birth, Astrid! That’s not a bad thing it just is true! I’m sorry that stung for you though.

      • Sparkly says:

        Don’t feel bad Astrid. I had someone ask me that and enjoyed watching their reaction when I informed them “Two years ago.” They always sputter and don’t know what to say. How about not saying *anything* when it comes to a stranger’s body?

  3. detritus says:

    Ugh, Cole Sprouse makes me feel gross because I find him so hot. Heā€™s just so young šŸ™

    Riverdale is a hilarious mess, but itā€™s definitely got lots of hot people. Lili and Camila are gorgeous and have such phenomenal bodies itā€™s crazy that even they feel shamed.
    Asi get older, I feel like I need to enjoy the body i have now, because 5 years later, Iā€™ll wonder what I was ever kvetching about.

    • Erinn says:

      I find him super hot, too, detritus. But I just googled and realized he’s only about 2 years younger than I am, so I feel less creepy.

      My husband refers to Riverdale as “Veronica”. Like – “can we watch Veronica now?” because he thinks she’s just incredibly cute. He doesn’t really get many celebrity crushes or anything like that but he was watching the first episode and was just like “She…. she’s SO pretty!” And I mean – I have to agree. All the people on this show are incredibly beautiful. It was cute though. Because it was nothing skeevy about it – 3 year age difference only – and he said it with such admiration. I told him that people were giving them crap over their bodies and he was just horrified. He can’t understand why because they’re clearly fit – but they’re not starving themselves. They’re normal, relatively tiny girls who have parts of their body that they don’t love as much as others – just like anyone else. But they’ve still got GREAT bodies. He’s always been pretty good about trying to understand the crap women go through – but in the last 2 years or so he’s REALLY gotten more of an idea of how much different the world is for women.

      This isn’t the first time Lili and Camilla have shot back against photoshopping/body shaming either. I really appreciate that they’re making a statement as soon as they started getting a lot of attention. They seem like kickass ladies, and it makes me happy.

    • HeyThere! says:

      I feel the same way about Cole!! Heā€™s hot but so young. I enjoy the dark hair and throw back vibes from his fashion. LOL that is all!

  4. nikki says:

    If she’s preggo in that pic, I’m carrying twins.

  5. KeWest says:

    The problem is people have been so far removed from reality. Can you believe women make up more than 50% of the population yet the female body is a mystery to most people.

  6. Eva says:

    Ummm yeah that’s what my belly looks like most of the time and I’m quite thin.

    It’s crazy that people don’t seem to remember what people look like without flexing and filters and photoshop and the most flattering selfie angles.

  7. Case says:

    She’s beautiful. It’s so rude how quick people are to say someone is pregnant just because they don’t have washboard abs. She’s fit and looks so healthy. She’s setting a great example for the girls who watch her show.

  8. Ninks says:

    Real life shippers are the absolute worst though. They make up fanfiction about their idol’s relationships, whether they are really in a relationship or not, and then scrutinize every picture, every interview and every social media sighting for proof that their dumb theories are right. Now, even despite her denial and photographic evidence, there will be a certain contingent of fans who will really believe she was pregnant and being forced to lie about it by the CW.

  9. Mc says:

    She looks awesome but I canā€™t imagine having to deal with that in the public eye. I wonder if she could have PCOS? Cystic acne and gaining weight in the belly were some of my first symptoms. I remember desperately trying to get pregnant while multiple people asked if I was pregnant because of my belly…. it was the worst.

    Anyways, sheā€™s super cute and I wouldnā€™t be mad if they had babies šŸ˜

    • Isobel says:

      The permanently rounded tummy, acne, excess hair in every spot that women are ā€œsupposedā€ to be hair free, random cramping, elevated blood sugar that isnā€™t diabetes…..PCOS is so much fun

  10. AustenGirl1975 says:

    Good for Lili! She’s such a gorgeous young woman, and I love how she pushes back against inappropriate and gross comments about her body and personhood.

    On a side note, I LOVE Riverdale–it’s crazy entertaining in every possible way and a complete mess in every way. There are plenty of missteps when it comes to the female characters, but sometimes they get it so, so right–like when Cheryl Blossom turned a cliche horror-movie trope on its misogynistic head and became the hunter (in a fab archer’s cape in an impossibly fast quick-change) instead of the hunted teenage girl who makes all the wrong moves.

    Camila Mendes as Veronica is awesome in every possible way. She’s so beautiful and looks exactly like Veronica from the comics. She also gets some great feminist stuff, and her delivery conveys her 100% commitment to debunking misogyny–too bad the show undermines those qualities sometimes with bad plot choices. I’m a 43-year-old college professor, and I can’t believe I gush over shows like Riverdale and Jane the Virgin, but they are so much fun and reckless.

  11. Lisa Giametti says:

    I absolutely love Riverdale.

    • Parigo says:

      Lol me too. Itā€™s my guilty pleasure watch. Soooo ridiculous, so fun.

      I donā€™t think Cole is hot, but he just oozes charisma and charm. Lili and Camilla are both very good actresses. Camilla has the best eyebrows.

      My favorite though is Cheryl šŸ”„ šŸ”„ šŸ”„

      Canā€™t wait for Sabrina!

  12. lucy2 says:

    I am all on board for not speculating if someone is pregnant. It’s none of our business, and can be really hurtful depending on a person’s situation.

    • The Hench says:

      So true. Many in society seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable to speculate about somebody being pregnant or not, including to their faces. If they stopped to think about it for one d*mn second, they would realise how intrusive and potentially devastating a question it could be. A friend of mine was desperately trying to get pregnant and had had three miscarriages, one of them including when they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat at three months. She’d been married a few years and she just absolutely lost it when yet one more interfering busybody asked her when she was going to start having children. Enough already. If somebody is pregnant they will either tell you themselves or it will become fairly obvious down the line. I remain astonished by how many people still think it’s acceptable to even enquire.

  13. Shelly says:

    I am turning 50 this year and nosy ladies STILL ask me if I am pregnant when I am bloated or wear a loose fitting shirt (which is nearly all you can find these days). Yet lots of men waddle around with giant bellies and never get asked anything…sigh.

  14. Claire Jalfon says:

    My 14 year old is obsessed with Riverdale and Cole. I couldn’t take him seriously for a while – all I could think of was ‘The Suite Life’, but after she showed me the pics of him and Lily out and about in New Orleans I think I am converted. Now need to watch Riverdale.

  15. Claire Jalfon says:

    Lili also looks gorgeous, fresh and young in those shots.

  16. Big Bertha says:

    I have fibroids. That means my stomach looks permanently bloated. I get asked that all the time. It sucks.

  17. liriel says:

    To be honest I believe that in general Lili is overreacting. Be active on social issues but don’t make it so petty. I get her but in the past first she was angry about the privacy are they/aren’t they with Cole (duh, Ryan Gosling avoided this gossip, they posted theirs pics on instagram so they weren’t totally private, nothing wrong with it), then some fan who probably loves them together hopes for a Lili & Cole’s baby and she sends such an emotional message. I hope she’ll take Hollywood less seriously, people are speculating about pregnancy etc rumours all the time. Even here on celebitchy. So, well said but chill down, Lili!

  18. amyston says:

    Sorry, but “Cole Spruce” made me giggle.

    I’m sad to say that Riverdale lost me completely in season 2 (and I no longer watch), but I’m still Bughead for life.

    • Parigo says:

      Yea, it went off the rails but started to get good again when they introduced the Choni story line. The musical episode was amazing. Such a talented cast.

      • amyston says:

        Oh, no. I mean, I agree that they are a talented cast. But I actually tuned back in for the musical episode, and OH NO.

  19. Kelly says:

    Did not know they were dating, so cute!! I think they are the best part of the show!!