Tallulah Willis, 20, got out of a stint in rehab a couple of months ago and has been celebrating her sobriety. Just prior to that, she did a candid video for The What’s Underneath Project. The What’s Underneath project was founded by stylist Elisa Goodkind and her daughter, Lily Mandelbaum. Goodkind and Mandelbaum interview participants as they strip down to their underwear and discuss self image and self acceptance. You can see some of the interviews on their website.
In Tallulah’s interview she talked about developing body dysmorphia and how criticism on the Internet affected her deeply when she was just 13. She said she took it to heart “reading those stupid f–king tabloids when I was like 13 and feeling like I was ugly, like always.”
In a new interview on Yahoo!’s Katie Couric Wow show, Tallulah was interviewed along with Goodkind and Mandelbaum. They’re trying to raise funds for The What’s Underneath Project. Tallulah said that she’s sober now, and that her drug use was just one of the ways that she tried to escape from feelings of inferiority. I found her well spoken and interesting. Here’s what she said and
you can watch the video of this interview on Yahoo!
The public criticism she received when she was younger – “From a very young age, something was communicated to me that I’m not OK. That I’m not enough. I had people when I was 13 telling me how ugly I was, and how could two beautiful actors create such hideous troll children? My only claim to fame was that I was born. I did nothing to warrant this, so I think there was a lot of struggle with that. There was a lot of anger with the fact that not only am I trying to discover myself, having to discover it under the very cruel gaze of a lot of other people.”
How her lack of self-esteem stemmed her substance abuse and other issues – “It really just goes down to I didn’t feel OK with who I was. So whether it was not eating, overeating, being over indulgent and spending money on things or hiding away or going out, it really just goes back to ‘you’re not OK with who you are, so something else is going to fix it, something else is going to change that.’ I think if anything it’s going to help me be more present for continuing not just the work on myself, but being able to help other people.
On her participation in “The What’s Underneath Project” – “I think that this problem is sometimes scoffed to the side as a girly issue, ‘yeah of course girls don’t like the way they look.’ But it actually is so much bigger than that.’ I guess I didn’t understand that this is such a communal fault line that is running through every individual on this planet that whether it’s hidden or not hidden, that we all feel this certain sense of insecurity. So many people are telling me, ‘You inspired me.’”
I’m impressed with Tallulah and how well she expresses herself. It must have taken a lot of courage to admit that she was so hurt by the criticism online. She really seems like she has it together now, and like she’s making sense of what she went through. This is also a great cause. I hear some of the things my friends say about themselves and it makes me so sad. Whenever I’m tempted to criticize myself, I try to imagine a friend saying that about themselves and what I would tell her. I would tell her she looked great and I would mean it. I try to treat myself that way too.
Oh and Tallulah shaved her head! She was sporting a short pink ‘do but she’s since shaved it off. She also Instagrammed photos of her mom, Demi Moore, with her GI Jane buzz cut. They do look a lot alike. Tallulah looks great! I mean it.
Before:
Here’s a video of Tallulah buzzing her hair off.
candid photos are from 10-21-14 and credit: FameFlynet. Other photos via Instagram
good for her! quite the literal clean and fresh start for her; wishing her the best and maintained sobriety.
I struggle with the Willis girls. They’ve been subject to some of the absolutely harshest criticism about their looks, but the flip side of that is because they’ve also sought out a higher profile for themselves. A profile that they themselves never would have merited without their famous parents. There’s a part of me that just wants to tell them to go to school and develop real skills. I should probably lay the blame squarely at Bruce and Demi’s feet for that, as the adults who should know better.
I think that’s unfair. All the girls have been receiving criticism since they were very young, and not in control of their public image.
The fault starts with their parents, who should have done more to instill in them values other than beauty. No surprise, coming from Demi.
I know I’m horribly mean and its unfair, but it’s also the nature of the life they all seem to be choosing. And again, I realize that this is all stuff that should be put squarely their parents, who helped lead their children into showbiz.
We don’t know what values her parents instilled in here regarding beauty.Having great parents doesn’t keep you from having poor self esteem.Great parents don’t keep you from using drugs.These girls haven’t undergone tons of plastic surgery so maybe their parents told them they were fine despite what the public said about them.
Take a seat please. Demi has been through a lot of shit growing up and when her marriage to Bruce broke down, she took several steps back from the spotlight to raise her children. I think once they became old enough to take care of themselves, she let herself go and she got hurt badly too by Kutcher. Everybody struggles but Demi is not so bad as people try to paint her.
I don’t think that people think that Demi is bad. Both Bruce and Demi seemed a bit careless with regard to the media attacks on their daughters. I remember that one of the Willis’ girls was called “potato head” for a while and that was simply gross. It is not fair to criticise somebody for his “natural looks” – nobody has any influence on what your bone / face structure / genes is (before plastic surgery). Such criticism is pathetic.
Criticise a child of a famous person for a real lack of acting skills / ambition / hard work and I support that.
I think Bruce and Demi made a mistake that many parents make. They thought once their children were teenagers, they required much less supervision and attention. What good is raising them in small town middle America when you bring them to LA in their teens? What a culture shock, and then to have reduced parental supervision – I just think that’s a recipe for disaster.
if grown adults want to be part of such a superficial culture like Hollywood where looks and nepotism outweight talent and hardwork anyday, i wouldnt feel comfortable with such insults, but it would be not as bad.
but a 13 year old cant be blame for that. even if she was courting it, i dont know if she did that. she was way to young for it to have a responsibility in that way.
generally i think celeb parents should shield their kids completly but its obviously the main fault of the people doing the bullying.
@bridget is that true for tallulah? I think you are mixing her up with rumer or scout.Tallulah is not an actress or singer like the other two.
Also what are they supposed to do? Hide so they can avoid nasty comments?
Even on this site which I consider to be nicer than most I have read so many nasty comments about them.
I think one of the girls went to university (Brown?), but I’m not sure which one.
Scout attends/attended Brown. I think she recently walked through Times Square topless to raise awareness of something (I don’t know what and may be confusing her with someone else).
You are probably thinking mostly of Rumer. Tallulah and Scout were called ugly when they were just teens, not even trying to be famous. I used to see comments wondering how Demi had such “ugly” children, people feeling sorry for them because they looked like their dad, and people make fun of their chins. Perez Hilton was the worst. He was hard on Rumer, but would also make comments about the younger two. Even in Rumer’s case the criticism was way too harsh, even if she was trying to be famous.
Exactly this Peppa. I used to avoid the Rumer Willis threads just because I knew I’d be upset by the hateful comments slung her way.
I get that some people were irritated by what they saw as nepotism and I’m fine with that criticism but I will always call foul when people slag on the looks people were born with.
First off, I realize that I’m really harsh foreign so unsympathetic here – it’s just a celebrity blind spot for me. And yes, the bashing that Rumer has gotten over the years was legitimately, especially harsh, and she’s had significant work done on her face over the years (good work, though). But I will say this: as the youngest and arguably the most conventionally attractive, Tallulah was actuallyprobably the most shielded from the criticism that her eldest sibling got. I would pplace far more blame at her mother’s feet for body image issues, as Demi Moore isn’t exactly the most secure person in the world. Even her ‘comeback’ over a decade ago was fueled by an amazing overhaul on what was an already lovely body.
I’m with Bridget here, and I blame the parents. End of. At the very least, the parents could have confronted this directly, like the Clintons did when Chelsea was called ugly and other vile names. They confronted the abuse publicly and they made it very clear it wasn’t OK to abuse growing children.
I’m not a fan of the Clintons, but they did right by Chelsea.
That said, this is Hollywood. Despite the Willis girls growing up out of the spotlight during their formative years, they were clearly never shielded from it nor was a conversation(s) held to help them develop a thick skin to ignore it.
They grew up in Idaho. Around the time Demi and Bruce separated and Demi wanted to restart her career, the whole family relocated to LA. That apparently was a major mistake. The girls should have stayed in Idaho and had a normal upbringing. Instead they went to Hollywood and got visions of grandeur (Rumor anyway).
I can’t imagine growing up and reading stuff like that at 13. I was just like that at 13 (weren’t alot of us?)but I wasn’t famous or had people online telling me I was hideous. My god that is terrible to do to a kid. money and famous parents can’t fix that shit. I am glad she is working so hard with her issues. I wish her peace and happiness. “Use your faults” said Edith Piaf. Celebrate what makes you different. Good luck, T.
I wasn’t told by anonymous people on the Internet that I was ugly, but I was told by many schoolfriends, to my face, that I was fat, disgusting, a ball of fat, a disgusting sumo they didn’t wanna touch, they called me hambuger, sausage… I would be walking around the schoolyard with a friend and someone would casually yell at me “Fat bitch!”.
Once (I was 11) I was dancing with my friends and half the people there started screaming and saying I was gonna explode and there’d be grease all over everyone. All of this started when I was 6, when I wasn’t fat, although I wasn’t skinny either. But I completely believed I was. I started binge eating to calm my anxiety, so I did get fat.
At least, if it’s people you don’t know and you have to go look for it to read it, you can avoid much of it. Being bullied because boys didn’t find you hot is very common, and some of us couldn’t avoid it at all.
That sucks, Asha. people can be so cruel.
“Being bullied because boys didn’t find you hot is very common, and some of us couldn’t avoid it at all.”
I hear ya girlfriend. I got similar sh*t in junior high. Some kids can be the worst human beings you’ll ever meet in your life.
Oh man…That is so awful, Asha.
*hugs*
The worst part is, this f*ks you up for life. When I meet someone, I always feel like I’m less than them. I feel I am a disgusting person and I should be grateful they’re interacting with me, that I should be perfect and work my hardest at pleasing them so they accept me and decide to sacrifice themselves by being my friend, or working with me in a project at uni. I can’t have a normal relationship with people. I can’t eat in front of people. I can’t go to the beach. I can’t wear shorts.
Yet those people who probably spent their teenage years calling others fat bitches or making lists of the “hottests girls at school” and passing the list around so you knew you were the ugliest in the class, probably think we just “laughed it off”. If they had fun while mocking us for our whole lives, how could we not have felt the same way? That’s why they “can’t imagine growing up and reading stuff like that at 13”. At 13, and at 15, and at 10, and at 8, and at 6. Reading it, being yelled at.
What Asha said. I can’t imagine what it’s like when tabloids write sh*t about you (it’s probably horrible when you have the feeling the whole world knows what’s written about your perceived lack of beauty and not “only” the schoolyard), but what children do to other children in schools everyday – it stays with you on some level.
I was never overweight, so I was lucky in that department, but the other things, yes I know them. I know what it’s like to be called the ugliest girl in school. Or never getting invited to anything. Or people actively tryring to avoid sitting next to me or making faces and talking sh*t when the teachers forced them to. But what I remember most distinctively was that I tried SO hard to understand what’s wrong with me and how I could be a part of the cool kids even though they were so horrible to me. How I could change to be less revolting. As a kid I was not only hurt but also puzzeled, I remember thinking that if weight was the cause (another girl got bullied because of that) then I could at least slim down and then be accepted. As an adult I realize of course that for overweight children it’s not “just” slimming down, but a huge problem. But you know, as a child you don’t think that far, I just knew that my face will always look like that and I can’t change it at all. In my personal case it was also not exactly helpful that my own mother was telling me a few times to wear make up to look less … well.. unfortunate. Even as an adult. But that’s another story…
What I want to say: I think it’s awful that Tallulah Willis (which is in fact quite pretty imho, but that’s beside the point) was made feel this way. But it’s also awful that a LOT of people whose stories will never be heard are made feel that way every single day.
Yup yup yup x100,000,000,000 It’s been over 18 years since I left school and it still haunts me now. It set up a mental assumption in me that I am ‘ugly’ in the same way as I am white, I am British, I am female, I am ugly. Only now am I mentally working through removing the negative c**p I was instilled with as a teenager. But damn… it’s hard. It’s so ingrained, so matter-of-fact that sometimes other’s can’t quite understand how deeply ingrained it is. Like I’m trolling for compliments: no, it’s just that I am ugly. That’s it. I am not one of the pretty ones. I do not fear aging, losing my looks, because I never had them in the first place. How can I mourn something I never had? And why should I bother making an effort; one cannot polish a turd. These are all thoughts that I am trying to question in my ‘mid-thirties life change’. I do hope that for me, my 40’s will be the time for me to blossom, when I finally shake of these stupid beliefs I accrued from thoughtless a******* I was unfortunate enough to go to school with.
*hugs all round*
Oh, and Tallulah looks like a boss with that cut. I would love to shave my hair one day – perhaps I’ll build the confidence up eventually!
I feel her. Criticism hits hard. And the internet is cruel, so many people judging and bashing others like it’s their right. And you and I are all guilty. Children at least should be off limits. Adolescence is a clusterf*k of mixed emotions and trying to figure out who you are and what you’re here for and and if you like yourself. It’s hard enough without the world at large commenting on you and putting you down.
Yes. Very well said. I have teens and one of them in particular is having a hard time, identity-wise, so I can’t even imagine what it was like for Talullah given the unwarranted criticism that was thrown and her and her sisters for so long. She seems to have a good handle on it now, though, which is encouraging.
This is what happens when a society places such a high value on women’s appearance and little else. I can’t imagine how demoralizing and dehumanizing it must be to have the world tell you — “that thing you’re only good for? It sucks.” Being a teenager is hard enough.
She seems intelligent and introspective, I hope she makes her mark in the world for good.
You are right, but to be honest I can’t think of a time when society didn’t place a huge value on a woman’s appearance. Even if you go back to medieval times and read the texts back then, then “fair” always means “good” and older women with wrinkles were always painted as so ugly that they gave young men a fright and of course they were also evil monsters. That’s where the witches in fairy tales come from as well as the beautiful princesses.
And even if you go further back then you see that men fought wars over Helena of Troy because she was such a beauty – not because she was witty and a good companion.
I’m sure the tabloid slams hurt her, but her mother didn’t help. Trying to dress, look and act like a teenager and probably doing a better job of it than her daughter’s did not help them. All three of those poor girls had/have issues. I have seen plenty of plain kids, even down-right homely ones, who with a good upbringing still had confidence, felt secure in the world and were successful in life. It wasn’t just strangers comments in tabloid mags that messed these girls up. They’re too young to even realize yet what kind of damage their up-bringing or lack of, did to them.
Amen.
Yeah, my sister is similar. Always posting selfies of herself on FB, constantly needing approval not only for how PERFECT she is but how beautiful, and fit, and smart, and accomplished she is. Then I look at her 18 year old daughter. Shy, hides behind her hair, suffering from depression and I’m like “HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THE CONNECTION”. No one will ever be as good as her. She makes me feel the same way but at least I am an adult.
But then, I guess that’s what narcissists do.
I tend to agree. The fact that Talullah can speak so articulately about her issues at such a young age, when Demi’s behavior over the years clearly indicated she was stunted in some way, is a hopeful sign to me. She seems more mature than her mom.
Yes, Telullah does seem more mature than her mother, and deeper. Demi is shallow and vacuous. Her daughter is actually thoughtful and insightful. She needs to hear that, and to focus on that because Lord knows your brain is more important than your looks – looks that will eventually fade – no matter who you are or how long they do last (*cough*Demi*cough*), they will eventually fade, and then what?
Yes she seems like a mature, understanding person. She seems to be doing fine and I hope she continues this path. She could teach her mom a thing or two.
i’m actually quite surprised at this, seeing as i always thought Talulah was the prettiest of the 3.
Actually, I always thought Tallulah was the prettiest of the three girls. I still, after all these years, can’t wrap my head around how in the world Bruce and Demi thought giving these girls off-the-rails names would help them in life. Too many celebrities name their children as if they were naming a dog or cat, but the child has to live with that unusual name as an adult.
They were trying to be cool. Tallullah isn’t a bad name imo. I think Tallulah was named after the actress Tallulah Bankhead. Scout was named after the character in To kill a mockingbird. The name Rumer is a bit odd. I don’t where they would get that one from.
A good example of the parents making it about themselves vs. thinking ahead to how their decision might actually affect the kids. Although odd names don’t necessarily mean a life of mockery. I’ve known kid with unusual names (Rocket, Sassy are two examples) who have owned them with confidence.
Rocket is cool! I wouldn’t do it, but it’s still cool.
Rumer is named after Rumer Godden the writer I believe. Great writer!
I don’t think the names are that bad. I mean, they might not be very common names, but at least they are already existing names and taken from strong women of their time. I think that might actually help a young girl’s self-esteem.
Tallulah also the best character in Bugsy Malone.
I think that may have been Demi’s thing to give the girls unusual names. Notice Bruce’s younger girls had normal names.
She looks beautiful.
I just wanted to say the same thing…she is a beautiful young women!
I’m glad she’s at a place where she’s more accepting of herself.
I dig the cut. she looks both cute and beautiful.
I cannot imagine how hard it is for some celeb spawn to grow up in the public eye. it’s one thing if they seek it out, like Rumer has, but for a 13 y.o. just trying to survive that crazy world, especially when your mother was, at one point, one of the most beautiful (IMO) women in the game?…gotta be tough.
People will hate & criticize you no matter what & unfortunately it’s not just in Hollywood. I am constantly surprised how cruel some people are in real life. I guess it’s human nature to drag people down & it’s our own responsibility to love ourselves & rise above the rest.
Wow, hate to admit that I used to giggle at mean and nasty comments a decade ago on Perez Hilton, mostly because I did not see celebs or their children as real people and thought those words didn’t mean anything because they would never see them. I know how wrong and truly f*cked up internet trolling is now, mostly because of maturity. So what if your dad is Bruce Willis and you decide to be in the spotlight, you’re telling me it’s okay to be torn apart? NO! I’m really liking the Willis girls now, they must be strong young women!
I admire Tallulah’s courage and candor, and a pox on the a’holes who have spent most of these three girls’ lives talking sh*t about their looks. And btw, I think she looks great with her head shaved – possibly because it really takes a strong facial structure to pull that off.
Demi has, I’ve noticed, started letting her gray hairs stay gray and has dressed down a lot in recent pics, so maybe she’s owning some responsibility for the cruel comparisons that asinine idiots have made between her beauty and her girls’ looks.
Maybe Celebitchy could enforce a “no mean-spirited comments” rule regarding the appearances of children out of recognition of this issue?
Agree!
Good idea!
I’m guessing they did, because I tried posting something regarding Tallulah’s looks, but it didn’t go through? Weird, it wasn’t even mean.
Not to be insensitive either, but Tallulah isn’t a child anymore, she’s a woman. If people are allowed to post all day about how plastic and cat-faced Kim Kardashian looks, then me just stating that I always thought Tallulah was the cutest compared to her sister’s shouldn’t be a big deal …
But she isn’t desperately, pathetically, narcissistically begging you to look at her “on a daily basis” such as the Trashian bunch so it IS different IMHO.
But… isn’t the difference that KK actively formed her face the way it looks now (you know, like a piece of art) and the Willis girls were just born the way they are? If I think a painter or sculptor produced some quite ugly work (and it wasn’t an accident but intentionally so) I would rather make a comment about that than about someone who is just the product of his/her genes. Plus KK is an adult and the Willis girls were practically children. I don’t think anyone would be okay with people writing that Nori is ugly, for example (and I don’t mean ugly clothes).
Bullying shouldn’t be seen as something that’s exclusive to certain people; no one “deserves” it. I mean I think most people can agree that the Kardashians are probably the most insecure girls around. They feel the need to laser, nip, tuck, contour, change their appearances constantly and consistently reveal it to the world for the validation of others. They want more than anyone to be loved and accepted, paid attention to, etc. I’m not even a fan of theirs but I can see that, and I don’t think they deserve hate anymore than the Willis sisters, or anyone for that matter. Tallulah chose to dye her hair pink and then shave her head bald, so because this was her choice, does that now mean she’s vulnerable to criticism and bullying? Because she wasn’t born with that, like Kim’s plastic surgery, it was her choice to do that to herself? And she takes pictures of it and gives interviews, so she’s putting it out there just like a Kardashian does?
Bottom line, it’s human nature to judge. There is not one person on earth who doesn’t judge. There’s a difference between an opinion and just pure hate though. My opinion, the Willis sisters aren’t the most conventionally beautiful women around, no. There’s no way though that bullying and hate should ever be seen as “deserved”, for a Willis, Kardashian, or anyone. Period. If you’re going to be a big advocate against bullying and say that you should leave people alone, then you should apply that to everyone.
Haters gonna hate… Shave it off!
This makes me sad that she went through that. At that age, she didn’t pick her life or choose to be criticized. It’s so hard to be a girl in this appearance-based world. It sounds like she’s worked through some issues. I wish her well.
That was my first thought, too. How sad. She sounds strong and in a good place. Good for you, Tallulah!
I think she looks GREAT! People suck, especially those who would criticize the looks of a child, teen, young adult (or anyone else for that matter). Willis girls should wear their unique, cool esthetics with pride!
What does it matter if we see her as cute or not? Does it serve any meaningful purpose judging her level of attractiveness?
So many young people going down this road these days. I think the internet is partially responsible. People post horrible things about someone and don’t see the hurt in the recipient’s eyes that they are responsible for. I’m blown away by what I read on here sometimes and the cruelty of people.
Reading Tallulah’s comments “how could such beautiful people have such trolls for children” actually made me tear up. What a harsh, cold way to grow up. She looks very pretty in these photos, for what it’s worth. And she seems to have a lot of insight an intelligence. I wish her the best.
Beauty is not that important, we should teach girls to love themselves for who they are and not for how attractive they are to males.
Having said that, this girl is gorgeous! And same as Joel-Brinkley’s daughter, I think the Willis girls are more interesting than their mothers.
I’m constantly suprised by how cruel people can be to people both on the internet and in real life. Making comments on someones apperances famous or not is unnecessary and doesn’t do any good.
Good for her. I remember a girl I knew went on and on about how ugly Demi’s kids were. I thought that was such an unfair comment. The kids looked fine and they were just that….kids! I don’t get why people feel it’s ok to be so judgmental on celebrities’ kids. Yes, they may have some opportunities and riches that ‘normal’ people don’t have but they also have to live under such undue public scrutiny. Too bad women aren’t as good to each other as they should be. Instead of building each other up, we are too busy tearing each other down.
I like the buzz cut more than the pink ‘do.
Love how she articulated herself.. and I think she looks beautiful. Lovely skin & eyes..
There are so many cruel people out there. I was hideous at 13!! It was bad enough going to school in a small town, I can’t even imagine the feeling of famous parents and having your name rubbed through the tabloids. I have no idea what she looked at when she was 13 but she’s definitely a gorgeous young woman.
Both this one and her sister Rumur–I suspect they are actually both very pretty in real life and just photograph unusually.
Sout I’ver never really seen, so I can’t say.
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter what kind of parents Demi and Bruce are/were or what they do in life. A bunch of nasty people on the media, currently simpering about bullying, talked crap about those girls for years. Demi is conventionally pretty and Bruce is cool looking, but it doesn’t translate to conventional prettiness in his daughters, who happen to look like him. Which is fine, but you had all these people talking about how ugly the girls were when they were CHILDREN. You want to know why we have an epidemic of bullying and gossip in our society? Look at the so called adults. No one wants to take personal responsibility for the horrible things they said for years- who used to compare them to potatoes? I forget. You can rag on their parents for crap decisions, but this lies squarely on the shoulders of the media and bloggers who took vicious joy in running down kids who did nothing more than be born to a very beautiful mother and have the nerve not to look like her.
I find it so bizarre that when you look at a picture, (many actually), and think how beautiful someone is, (which has always been the case with her), then you read something like this. That they have been told the opposite of what you (myself) always thought, and what is fact. It is fact. She is beautiful. Always has been??!! What amazes me is that the people that make her feel the opposite make the pages. Do not give those that bring you down, any power.
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain