Lili Reinhart is sharing her frustrations with those who went to extreme lengths ahead of Monday night’s Met Gala.
The “Riverdale” actor shared a series of self-described “rants” on social media this week in which she called out “stupid, harmful celebrities” who emphasized the dietary measures they took “all to fit in a fucking dress.”
“So wrong. So fucked on 100s of levels,” Reinhart wrote on her Instagram story. “To openly admit to starving yourself for the sake of the Met Gala. When you know very well that millions of young men and women are looking up to you and listening to your every word. The ignorance is other-worldly and disgusting.”
Moments later she urged followers to stop supporting stars “whose entire image revolves around their bodies,” and added: “I am generally not an angry person, but the toxicity of this industry sometimes really gets to me.”
Reinhart didn’t specify anyone by name. However, her remarks have been broadly interpreted as a dig at Kim Kardashian, who attended the Met Gala in the vintage gown worn by Marilyn Monroe to President John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration in 1962.
Kardashian told Vogue she lost 16 pounds in order to fit into the gown, which was on loan from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum and cannot be altered.
“I tried it on and it didn’t fit me. I said, ‘Give me three weeks,’” she explained. “I was determined to fit [into] it. I haven’t had carbs or sugar in about three weeks.”
In the days since the Met Gala, Kardashian’s remarks have drawn a flurry of criticism, with some calling the reality star’s dieting “extremely dangerous.”
“You should not be celebrated for losing 16 pounds in 3 weeks,” tweeted Yahoo Canada lifestyle editor Elizabeth Di Filippo. “You should not share details on how you unhealthfully lost weight with a major publication.”
Added fashion journalist Amy Odell: “If that’s not the regressive messaging this industry has tried desperately to distance from, what is?”
Reinhart has been outspoken about her own struggles with body image.
“Reminder to myself, and to all — you don’t need a flat or perfectly toned stomach to wear a crop top,” the actor wrote on Twitter in March. “These ‘summer body’ trends are toxic. Your body is ready for summer no matter what it looks like.”
And after Reinhart’s comments on the Met Gala made headlines, she clarified that she’d chosen to speak up “because I don’t see enough people with large platforms calling out toxic behavior in our industry.”
“Some people will never understand where I’m coming from and that’s okay,” she tweeted.
If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.