Instagram

Sarah Michelle Gellar Faces Backlash for ‘Fat Shaming' Instagram Post

"I'm just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday #thanksgivingprep," Gellar captioned a sequence of photographs from her 2007 Maxim photoshoot on Monday.

Many fans were not feeling particularly thankful for former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar's Instagram post, deeming it fat shaming.

"I'm just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday #thanksgivingprep," Gellar captioned a sequence of photographs from her 2007 Maxim photoshoot on Monday.

Some users thought the actress' association of eating with the appearance of her body in a men's magazine photo shoot from more than a decade ago could be harmful.

To one user, the caption echoed a damaging diet culture.

"Your caption is problematic and I suggest you do some research on eating disorders, the mental health issues that go along with them, and how diet culture is harmful to women," they wrote. "Girls look up to you, and you should be mindful of the message you're sending." They followed up their comment with another, clarifying that they were not suggesting the actress should not "be proud of what [she] worked hard to achieve."

"I just want you to be aware and mindful of the potential impact of your words and the message you're sending," they noted.

Another user said the post could be "really damaging to people with eating disorders or body dysmorphia."

Others defended the actress but not her caption decision.

"I think she's great and obviously very beautiful, but the caption was pretty sad and disappointing but that's just my opinion and I'm pretty sure it was a joke [sic]" a user responded.

Many also pointed out she was only speaking for herself.

But some fans didn't see anything wrong with Gellar's post, coming to her defense.

"I don't think that she was fat shaming," someone wrote. "She has done a very good job of taking care of her body and shouldn't be faulted for that." Another said that negative replies to Gellar's post were "body shaming her for being skinny and keeping her shape."

Gellar responded to the controversy on Tuesday.

"It's come to my attention that some people think I was "fat shaming" with this post," she commented. "That could not be further from my intentions. I love Thanksgiving and unfortunately my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, and I tend to eat so much I make myself sick. This was a joking reminder to myself not to do that. I'm terribly sorry that people were offended by my attempt at humor. Anyone that knows me, knows I would never intentionally "shame" anyone on any basis. I am a champion of all people."

Contact Us