‘Riverdale’ Star Lili Reinhart Responds to Body-Shaming Comments

The CW’s Riverdale has developed a pretty passionate following for its unique blend of teenage stories and murder mystery. But when it comes to issues behind-the-scenes, one of the show’s stars is speaking out.

Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper on the hit series, recently took to Tumblr to address recent body shaming comments made towards her. After Reinhart stripped down to lingerie in a recent episode, fans have been negatively comparing her to the outfit’s original model, something that the actress is not on board for.

“It’s disappointing.” Reinhart writes. “This photo is being posted by fan accounts. The same fan accounts who love to talk about the amazing female friendships on the show, girl power, Veronica’s inspiring feminism, body positivity, etc. And that is the most hypocritical sh*t I’ve ever seen.”

As Reinhart argues, the popularity of these photos – and the cyberbulling that occurs in the comments – represents a larger problem in our culture, one that she hopes can be solved.

“It’s upsetting to see all these young women who proclaim to be feminists participate in something that represents the exact opposite.” Reinhart points out. “To them I say: You are the problem, don’t you get it? You are promoting the idea that this model is what all women should look like and that it’s not okay to look like anything else.”

“This is why we have eating disorders.” Reinhart continues. “This is why young teens are suicidal about their body image. This is why people have body dysmorphic disorder. This is why there aren’t nearly enough plus size models in the industry. I hope that this makes you reconsider the next time you feel the need to comment on another woman’s weight or figure.”

Reinhart has spoken pretty candidly about tough issues like this in the past, including a previous experience with sexual harassment, as well as her past struggles with depression. Her co-star, Camila Mendes, has also done the same, previously sharing her past struggle with an eating disorder.

Riverdale returns from midseason hiatus on January 17th, 2018.