Charli D’Amelio says her struggles with body image started with an old dance teacher: 'Words have so much power'
Charli D'Amelio continues to speak out about her struggle with body image, sharing that a former dance teacher's negative comments about her figure led her to develop a difficult relationship with food.
The new details were shared in a recent episode of the family's reality series on Hulu The D'Amelio Show when Charli went to visit her hometown dance studio during a trip back to Connecticut. While praising the co-owners of the studio for creating a "safe space" for her growing up, Charli explained in a confessional that not all dance environments had been that for her.
"I had a dance teacher that was really shitty and that messed me up for a while. I mean, words have so much power, especially when it comes to young dancers. All they want is to have that validation from the people that are teaching them," she said as photos of her 10 and 11-year-old self dancing flashed on the screen. "I struggled for a long time and I did it as quietly as I could and that was really hard."
Heidi D'Amelio, her mother, recalled the instance herself saying that "it really messed with [Charli's] head to have an adult teacher commenting negatively about your body because she was muscular and lean." Heidi added, "She was tiny, she [hadn't] developed yet. She was a pre-teen."
Now 18, Charli has amassed fame and social media followers from TikTok where she gained recognition for her impressive dance skills. She's currently competing on Dancing With the Stars alongside Mark Ballas, while her mother is paired up with Artem Chigvintsev.
On The D'Amelio Show, Charli shared that fame hasn't helped her struggles.
"Even towards the beginning of social media, like 99% of the times that you saw me upset it was like not about what you thought it was at all. There was a lot going on under the surface that no one really knew about," she said, referring to vulnerable moments on TikTok or Instagram. "It’s extremely hard to go from having a very unhealthy mindset with food to a healthy one."
According to a video she posted with her sister Dixie D'Amelio to promote #SaferInternetDay in February 2020, being a public figure has likely exacerbated the issue.
"Some of the most hurtful comments that I read about myself online are, 'She’s fatter than when we got her famous,' or 'She’s ugly,' They don’t like the way my face looks for some reason," Charli shared at the time. "A lot about my body shape, my body type, which hits close to home because I struggle a lot with body image, body dysmorphia, bad eating habits. No one really knows that."
In Sept. 2020 Charli directly addressed her struggle with an eating disorder for the first time publicly in a long message on her Instagram Stories. "it's so uncomfortable to admit to even your closest friend and family, let alone the world. i've been afraid to share that I have an eating disorder, but ultimately i hope that by sharing this i can help someone else," she wrote.
The first season of The D'Amelio Show also gave a look into how Charli was struggling while emerging into the spotlight.
"Whenever I first started TikTok ... I was very unhealthy," she said during an episode aired in Sept. 2021. "I would lose a bunch of weight, and then gain a bunch of weight, and then lose it, and my comments would switch up with that."
While Charli shared that she had a support group made up of family and friends who she felt comfortable confiding in about her issues with food and body image, it's evident that she hasn't forgotten the source of it all.
"I’ve run into the people that like made me feel so bad since," she said in Wednesday's episode. "They’re like my biggest fans now."
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.
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