Tara Reid is one of those actresses who tabloids and mean girls have always considered to be fair game. I know she has her demons, but as Britney has reminded us, tabloid culture in the late 1990s/early 2000s was absolutely brutal and a complete double-standard. Over the years, Tara has been scrutinized for her social life, looks, and interviews she’s given while seemingly not-fully sober. She’s not perfect, and she’s had bad public moments (likely a result of her substance abuse issues), but she doesn’t seem like a bad person. One of the most frequent things that Tara gets criticized for is her weight. Over the years, Tara has received unwanted comments about her weight, and periodically, she gives an interview to clap back at the noise. Following her recent appearance on season two of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Tara has faced another round of what she considers to be skinny-shaming and concern-trolling. Once again, Tara is trying to set the record straight.
The Days of Our Lives alum, 47, recently spoke to the Los Angeles Inquisitor and opened up about the constant criticism she receives about her weight.
“If we were overweight then they can’t say anything because that’s bullying. But it’s the same thing if you’re skinny. That’s still bullying too,” [Reid] said.
Reid said her body has been a topic of discussion since the early 2000s when her career kicked off. However, she’s received more criticism lately after appearing in season 2 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Now she’s hoping to shut down the speculation that she’s suffered from eating disorders once and for all.
“I have no anorexia and never have,” she clarified. “And I definitely don’t have any bulimia. I’m terrified of throwing up, so that’s not gonna happen. And I love food too much. So anyone that says I’m anorexic or bulimic, they’re wrong. So stop it. Leave me alone. Pick on me again on something else, but not on those two things. It’s not right.”
The American Pie star has previously slammed some of the body-shaming she’s gotten over the years. Back in 2021, Reid took to Instagram to shut down the hate she received after posting a photo of herself in a bikini.
“I am not too skinny, I have a high metabolism,” she told her followers. “Anyone with a high metabolism understands it’s impossible to gain weight. All I do is eat. To everyone who wrote something nice and stuck up for me, I love you! And keep spreading that love, it is the only thing that will save this world.”
The actress later told PageSix that she was “doing well” despite the constant scrutiny.
“I’ve always been thin,” Reid said at the time. “So these stories are kind of crazy because it’s like there’s nothing that has changed for forever. This is who I am, this is what I am, this is what I’m [aspiring] to be.”
Reid explained that hopefully her self-love and acceptance will “change the minds of bullies.” However, if not, then she’s “OK with that.”
“I’ve gone through it for so many years that, you know, sometimes I feel bad for them because if they’re that miserable writing things at home, what are they doing?” she said. “That’s negative. You know, it’s hurtful.”
“Love will always beat hate,” Reid added. “It’s just so hard to find love because you’ve got to find it in yourself first.”
Honestly, I feel for Tara, because I think she is one of those people who just cannot beat her demons. I get what she’s saying about commenting on weight being a double-standard. Even if she were too thin as the result of disordered eating or drug use, there’s a difference between trying to shame someone publicly for being “too thin” and sitting them down in private to find out if they are okay. Tara infamously had an unfortunate boob job and some pretty bad liposuction done back in 2004 because even though she knew she was skinny, she “wanted a six pack.” She suffered through years of ridicule and was asked about it so many times in subsequent interviews that it couldn’t have been good for her mental health. Honestly, for all of her talk about self-love, something in her words worries me that she still isn’t quite there yet. I hope this is just a case of, “You can’t tell tone over text,” though, and that she really is finally doing better. Also, I just went back and relistened to that wild exchange she had with Jenny McCarthy several years ago, and her bitchy quip, “I hope your tits get even nicer, because they’re amazing. The same guy who did mine, right?” is giving me life right now.
Photos credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
Tara was always a fun actress to watch who had a lot of potential and yeah she has her demons, many of which stem of how she was treated by the industry and press.
She seems to be in a better place now and hope she stays healthy. She really has been through the mill.
For all the sun, drugs, drinking and smoking – her skin looks really good.
I never understood why the tabloids picked on her, bullied her so much. She never did anything wrong?? It was so random. Any celebrity, woman, going out having a good time had bas press in that era. Tara, lindsay, paris, britney…Misogyny at its height.
I have some health things people dont realize and have always had hard time gaining weight. It’s not something I want to discuss around the water cooler at work but people say the rudest comments as though being too thin is an open forum for comment. I feel bad for her. I do also wonder how she has made money to survive over the years. This reality show special forces seems like a have to do for $. I know that sharknado was a bit of a surprise success.
Body shaming someone for being too thin or accusing them of having an eating disorder is just as cruel as body shaming them for being overweight. Here’s a thought: stop F**King commenting on people’s bodies if you have nothing positive to say. I feel bad for Reid, she really has been the target of awful tabloid coverage and cruelty – as many of her generation (my generation lol) were (Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, etc.).
I always thought she could have had a much better career but as usual Hollywood tore her apart.
Honestly I’m just glad to see she’s still alive.
She’s always seemed like a really sweet person with some problems to me. I wish everyone would leave her alone. It still breaks my heart to think about her famous wardrobe slip, with the paps all calling her name and shooting photos, and her standing there, beaming at the attention, unaware of what was happening.
The fact that she is alive seems like a huge win. I hope it feels like one for her too and that life is getting better and better for her.