Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar is coming under fire for a recent Instagram post reminding herself not to overeat this Thanksgiving.
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On Monday, Gellar shared a series of throwback photos from a 2007 photoshoot for Maxim to the social media platform joking that she was “just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday #thanksgivingprep.” You can check out the post below.
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The images feature a very thin Gellar dressed in lingerie, her hip bone protruding in the “sexy” photos. While Gellar likely meant no harm with the photos and for many Americans eating too much at Thanksgiving dinner is a time honored part of the holiday, the post didn’t go over well with fans. Man fans commented on the post to call out the Buffy actress for promoting an unhealthy body type and eating habits as well as possible “fat shaming” and the promotion of eating disorder “thinspiration.”
“Buffy, please don’t promote diet culture. Not the kind of message we should be sending,” one wrote. “Usually love your posts but I’m seriously against ‘thinspiration.’ It’s a core of most eating disorders.”
“Wow. Really shocked that a woman in a position of influence and a mother would post this (expletive),” read another comment. “Is that where you place your value? On the size of your thighs? Or your protruding hip bones? Nothing positive comes from this post. Only narcissism and the (expletive) theory that women need to be skinny to be acceptable. You should remove this post. Immediate unfollow from me.”
Others seemed to think that the issue was less the photos and more the caption that was problematic while understanding that it was probably meant as a joke.
“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,” read another comment.
While not all of the comments were negative — there were many followers who spoke up in support — Gellar later commented herself to explain her meaning as well as apologize for how it was perceived.
“It’s come to my attention that some people think I was ‘fat shaming’ with this post,” she wrote in a comment. “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. Any one that knows me, knows I would never intentionally ‘shame’ any one on any basis. I am a champion of all people.”
Do you think Gellar deserved the backlash for her Instagram post? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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