Chloë Grace Moretz broke on to the scene when she was 12 in 2010’s Kick Ass, even though she’d been working for six years prior to that. We know Hollywood is hard on child actors, as is the public. Unfortunately, Chloë was not sparred from being the butt of the joke and it took its toll on her mental health. In 2016, Chloë was photographed carrying some pizza boxes into her hotel. Because of the angle and her outfit, the most prominent feature in the photo are her gorgeous legs. The internet, being the internet, made a meme of the photo comparing it to the Legs Go All the Way Up Griffin character from the Amish Guy episode of Family Guy. By this point, Chloë was already struggling with body issues and this meme going viral only compounded the problem. It left her with body dysmorphia and self-loathing that took a long time to overcome. Chloë recently spoke about the pain it caused and the fact that when she tried to address it at the time, she was told she should get over it.
“For a long time I was able to be the Chloë that people see and the Chloë that I am in private. Then those two worlds collided and I felt really raw and vulnerable and open,” she said. “And then came the onslaught of horrific memes that started getting sent to me about my body.”
While social media has played a role in the way that celebrities interact with their fans in an authentic way, it also provides an opportunity for people to engage with public figures on their own terms. For Moretz, there’s a standout incident in which a photo that circulated took a hit on her confidence.
“There was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand. And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time,” she said. “Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f*** up, it’s funny.’ And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram. It was something so benign as walking into a hotel with leftovers. And to this day, when I see that meme, it’s something very hard for me to overcome.”
After the meme incident, it even became the more exciting parts of her job that felt compromised.
“It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious. And I think that body dysmorphia— which we all deal with in this world — is extrapolated by the issues of social media,” she explained. “It’s a headf***.”
There are interviews from 2016 of Chloë talking about trying to get her mother to sign off on plastic surgery when she was 16. Even before she was given the Family Guy meme, people were calling a teenager “fat” and “masculine” to the point she wanted to alter her appearance. The messages we send young people are gutting. They seem to reach kids no matter how much we try to provide a body positive home environment too. It’s criminal. And what’s worse for people like Chloë who have this worldwide platform, we have no idea what she’s struggling with. I look at her legs in that photo and think how could you see anything but fantastic legs? But I have short, stubby legs that I am quite self-conscious about. We don’t know what Chloë’s insecurities are, maybe that meme tapped into them. Not that it needed to hit a particular hot button, it was mean from the outset.
I felt for Chloë that it took away her enjoyment of dressing up and doing red carpets. People don’t care about robbing others of their joy anymore.
Chloë said she went to therapy. That and using the pandemic to go incognito everywhere freed her up to regroup. Unfortunately, Chloë lost her dad during that time, although not due to Covid. But the whole experience has made her revaluate how she approached her public persona. Now Chloë is working more time off into her schedule so she can get a break from everything else. I hope she gets a break from people criticizing her, too.
Photo credit: Instagram and Avalon Red
I haven’t seen that meme, and I thought I considered myself an ‘internet person.’ I’m so sorry she felt like that 🙁 I think she looks fantastic, and looked fantastic in that photo. Ugh I have no idea how one would deal with being in the public sphere and being on social media, besides avoiding entirely. I don’t know if I could handle it. I don’t have any social media besides whatsapp, and even then, I don’t post stories or have pictures of me. People can be so harsh, and then if they get modifications to deal with said insecurities or ‘flaws’ they are mocked for being vain or fake or superficial.
Ugh. It’s brutal growing up as a young woman in this world. Add to that the pressures of being on display as an actor. People actually die from body dysmorphia/ED. It’s no joke.
It’s another reason I cannot stand Khloe Kardashian. She attacked Chloë because she spoke against the Kanye/Kim/Taylor beef on Taylor’s side. Khloe mane needed some attention and injected herself. I hope Chloë is getting the help she needs and really focuses on her needs and well being.
Yeah, I really don’t know what Khole was thinking with that. Just, very unnecessary. She defended herself as being a mama bear, but it didn’t need to happen in the first place.
I so agree about BD/ED. I grew up knowing that about 1 in 10 people with ED will die as a result of complications of ED, but I’ve read recently it may be as high as 1 in 4. We need to protect young people. Actually, all people. I remember Miley Cyrus saying she didn’t wear shorts for two years after those memes came out about her performance with Robin Thicke. Just…horrible all around.
“Mama Bear”??? more like Drama Bear… like the rest of her fam.
I think she was also pretty shattered by the Kardashians sharing that photo of a woman’s exposed vagina and claiming it was her. I always forget how young she is. She seems like a hard worker and a good egg.
And I think it’s brave for people like her and Lili Reinhardt to speak out about how dark things get for them with this stuff, considering how privileged they appear, it can make them a really easy target for more hate.
Oh my god what??? That’s terrible! What kind of person would do that.
Yeah, Khloe is just a horrific person and yet always wants people to feel sorry for her. Khloe posted a pic of a Chloe from a movie set in an apparent attempt to shame her for wearing a bikini and then posted a picture of a woman with her bathing suit bottoms pulled down and implied that it was Chloe (who was 19 at the time). And Khloe never apologized after being called out. That’s horrific stuff and should never, ever be forgotten. People are constantly making excuses for that family and that right there is unforgiveable to me.
That is absolutely so effed up. I seriously loathe that family and think they have been such a disease on society. How did I not hear about that and how did Khloe get away Scott free with it? Those women make a living off of bullying other women and trying their best to make them feel terrible about themselves. We truly need to stop giving that family attention.
The worst. Khloe really got away with posting an alleged (it wasn’t her) picture of a teenager when you could see her genitals. That’s abhorrent. Her excuse was, im a mama bear and you come for my family, I come for you. Chloe M gave her 2 cents of Kim posting nude photos. You could agree or disagree but Khloe’s response says more about her than anyone else. And if I remember correctly the entire K clan cheered her on. Sick people
Whaaaaat? God those kardashians can be terrible people when they want to.
I’m not a big fan of religion, but I’m a huge believer in the golden rule. People are so cruel. I’m glad she went to therapy & got to regroup.
The golden rule isn’t a religious idea. It exists among all of humanity regardless of faith.
There’s a lot here about the Kardashians but honestly that’s just a convenient scapegoat. Truth is the public is just as guilty as any one celebrity. There are endless jokes out there about the Kardashians’ cosmetic surgery, Tom Cruise’s height, who’s aging well and who’s not and who finds who attractive or not. I doubt there’s anyone in Hollywood who doesn’t have some form of body dysmorphia. We just decide to care or not based on hkw well we like said celebrity. It’s all tiresome.
I hope she can overcome it all. She is such a great woman. I remember her when she did kick ass because I worked for the company that provided her with the shoes for the kick ass promo. She was barely 12 then and a complete sweetheart. I always remember her that way.
I love her, and I’m glad she’s finding her footing. But if she’s in the public eye, she will always have to read loathsome crap from strangers. It’s a funny meme. I chuckled. And at the same time, I can isolate her in the photo and appreciate her stellar beauty and magnificent legs. It’s hard growing up, none of it is easy, and I can only image how much extra everything is when you’re famous. I’ve always thought she had a good head on her shoulders and could see it through. I wish people were nicer. It’s a very hollow wish because I know, now especially, too many people are total scum
I co-sign everything you said. My sister and I often memeify each other and ourselves. But it’s just for our own consumption, and I think I might feel differently if it was public, and I hadn’t made the joke.
I think the same thing happened with Demi Lovato & the Poot Lovato meme. At first she laughed it off, then realised her feelings later were a bit conflicted and upset.
I do love her performances though, so I hope we continue to see more of her. Is it just me, or did she look a bit Olsen-ish in some of them?
I’ve only seen Chloe in a few things, but one of my favorite projects she ever did was as Jack’s nemesis in 30 Rock.
I’m sorry she has been through all this. I can’t imagine how it would feel to have the whole world poking fun at your body – especially when everyone can clearly see it was some odd timing/angle of the photo. Good for her for speaking up.
Same. Her as Jack’s nemesis was just genius. I love her.
It is beyond me how anyone could look at the photo of her with the pizza box and find anything to make fun of.
I never read about the Khloe K. feud but that’s so gross for so many reasons.
I’ve been a fan of Chloe’s since her 30 rock days. She was 19 and she made comments about Kim’s nude photos. Like everyone else in the world did. Agree or disagree with her, Khloe took it too far bc she’s a terrible person. The entire clan came for her and it was disgusting to see them attack a 19 y o girl.
Edit. I remember what Khloe said “I’m the last person to bully someone but….” Khloe, girl, you’re the biggest bully.