This Victoria's Secret Model Was Told to Lose Weight. She Quit

New Delhi: A former Victoria's Secret 'Angel' has revealed that she quit the lingerie brand after being told to lose weight for shows - a jolting disclosure but one that really shouldn't surprise anybody anymore given that several models and actresses have been speaking out about struggling with bodyshaming and body image.

Erin Heatherton, who worked as a Victoria's Secret model for five years, told Time's motto that she was pressured to be thinner for her last shows in 2013. She said: "My last two Victoria's Secret shows, I was told I had to lose weight. I look back like, 'Really?'"

Now 27, Ms Heatherton told motto that she ate healthy and worked out twice a day but eventually her "body just wouldn't do it."

"I was really depressed because I was working so hard and I felt like my body was resisting me. And I got to a point where one night I got home from a workout and I remember staring at my food and thinking maybe I should just not eat," Ms Heatherton said.

Advertisement

Erin Heatherton quit Victoria's Secret after her final 2013 show because: "I realized I couldn't go out into the world-parading my body and myself in front of all these women who look up to me-and tell them that this is easy and simple and everyone can do this."

Some weeks ago, Ms Heatherton, who appeared in the Adam Sandler film Grown Ups 2, posted an Instagram note in which she writes "I am not perfect" and that she will no longer "hid behind a fabricated version" of herself.
 

Advertisement

This is a week in which body image has been discussed at length in a powerful Instagram post by actress Zarine Khan, who accompanied photos of herself as a school student and wrote about being bodyshamed no matter what size she is: (Also Read: Everyone Should Read Actress Zarine Khan's Powerful Post on Bodyshaming)
 

Last year, at least three models spoke publicly about being bodyshamed. "No, I don't have the same body type as the other models in shows. I represent a body image that wasn't accepted in high-fashion before," wrote international supermodel Gigi Hadid on Instagram. "Your mean comments don't make me want to change my body," she told bodyshamers. Swedish model Agnes Hedengard, then medically underweight with a BMI of 17.5, made a YouTube video in which she made the startling confession that she doesn't get a lot of work because she's considered "too big." "They think my hips are too wide," she said. "According to the modelling industry, you cannot look like this." (Also Read: Three Models Claim They've Been Body-Shamed. Hard to Believe? Read This)

Advertisement

At home, model and actress Lisa Ray, 44, told news agency IANS that she get bodyshamed, saying, "I get it as well. We have a lot of trolling and things like that. I am very proud of who I am today but honestly, I have to struggle with it as well." (Also Read: Lisa Ray Claims She Gets Body-Shamed. True Story)

Several of Lisa's colleagues from Bollywood, among them Parineeti Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha, have been outspoken about being criticized for their bodies. Alarmingly, young daughters of female celebrities also appear to be targeted for the way they look. The teenaged daughters of actresses Sridevi and Pooja Bedi have addressed those who leave disrespectful comments on their social media accounts in strongly-worded posts and blogs.(Also Read: Sridevi's Daughter Khushi Shames the Body-Shamers in Instagram Post)