Valerie Bertinelli hits back at body-shamers in an emotional new video
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Valerie Bertinelli is hitting back against criticism of her weight in an emotional new post.
On Thursday, The Foot Network host took to Instagram to share a video addressing some of the negative comments she has received online about her figure.
In the video, 61-year-old said she made a "mistake" of reading some of the comments on one of her recent posts
“Someone decided to point out that I needed to lose weight. Because see, I don't have a scale or I don't have clothes that I'm trying to put on every day and I don't have mirrors so I don't see what's become of me,” she said sarcastically. “So I needed that help to let me know that I need to lose weight.”
Bertinelli held back tears while she shared a pointed message to her troll or anyone who thinks it's OK to make comments about someone's body.
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“You're not being helpful,” she went on. “Because when you see somebody who has put some weight on, my first thought is, ‘That person is obviously going through some things, because If I could lose weight and keep it off, I would. But since I haven't been successful with that my whole entire life — at 61 I'm still dealing with it. Do you think I'm not tired of it, lady? Not f—-ing helpful.”
Bertinelli captioned the video with a message to her more than 800,000 followers, explaining that although she wanted to delete some of her content on social media, she ultimately decided it would be best to be vulnerable with her followers.
"Aren’t we tired of body shaming women yet?" she wrote. "I was going to delete my stories because it’s a little embarrassing and scary to be so vulnerable. But then I realized it was hitting a ‘good’ nerve with so many of you who were so sweet to DM and share your same vulnerability and struggles."We all could use a little more kindness and patience and grace because we just never know what someone else is going through. So here it is. Not deleting. Owning it."
Bertinelli has always been transparent with her fans about her struggle with body image issues. Back in May 2020, she opened up to People about the bullying she endured because of her weight growing up.
"The very first time I became really aware of my body, I remember my fifth-grade teacher patted me on the belly and said, 'You might want to keep an eye on that,'" Bertinelli recalled. "How dare he? At that age, we're so full of joy, and then to have someone slap you for nothing. For just standing there."
Bertinelli explained that in the years that followed, she felt very insecure about her figure. She noted that specifically, she struggled with her body image while she was on the show "One Day at a Time."
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"I look back at pictures and even in the first season, I felt big next to [co-star] Mackenzie [Phillips]. I wasn't. I was 15 years old. But I was made to feel I could stand to lose a few, like, 'Let's see if we can get you into a smaller size.'"
She added that from then on, she was focused on "always trying to be better. Thinner. Nicer. Prettier."
Nowadays, Bertinelli is far more concerned about rectifying the lost time she spent "obsessing" over her body.
"Now I can be angry for that little girl," she said. "It feels like so much time wasted."
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