Tess Holliday is asking the public to stop criticizing her weight.
The plus-size model, 38, posted a TikTok video on Monday, April 15 to address the negative messages that she constantly receives.
“One thing I’m learning on this extremely fatphobic app is the minute you mess up, you can count on everyone to tell you how fat you are and that you should die. It’s great. I’ve honestly been loving it,” Holliday said sarcastically.
“Don’t keep it coming because the mental health is a little fragile right now,” she continued. “But sometimes some of us are just doing our best. Sometimes we do make mistakes and we are never gonna be perfect.”
Growing up in Mississippi, Holliday was bullied about her weight, and the bullying has continued many years later on social media.
“Maybe if we mess up or make a mistake and own it … maybe we could just not say that they’re the most disgusting person on the planet and the fattest thing to ever walk the earth,” she added. “Some of us are just holding on so strong, and we’re trying and that’s not helpful.”
Tess Holliday Jared Siskin/Getty Images for National Alliance for Eating Disorders
Holliday captioned her video, “I really am doing my best and I love y’all sm.”
This is not the first time she has called out critics for body shaming her.
In June 2022, Holliday responded to a person who commented that following her on TikTok made them “grossed out” enough to lose over 150 lbs.
“You are seeking out content of larger-bodied individuals as a way to make yourself feel better, which is kind of a weird thing in general, especially when I can guarantee a lot of the larger-bodied individuals you’re following have happy, full lives not despite them being fat, but they just are,” Holliday said.
“I’m used to people using me as their ‘before’ pictures and inspo but the reality is that I’ve gotten fatter over the years, my weight’s fluctuated, but the one thing that I have maintained through all of this is my joy,” she added. “I’m fatter right now than I’ve been in awhile, but I’m also happier.”
The former makeup artist and hair stylist has been very open in the past about her body struggles.
In April 2022, she revealed she was “really struggling with body image” after being diagnosed with anorexia.
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“It’s been almost debilitating because even though y’all see me out having fun, it sometimes takes so much work & energy just to be able to leave the house,” Holliday wrote on Instagram at the time.
In December 2021, she also discussed suffering from body dysmorphia — a mental health disorder in which people obsess over perceived flaws in their appearance.
“My body dysmorphia has been really trying me lately and when photos from previous years pop up while I’m scrolling through my phone, it causes me to spiral a bit,” Holliday wrote via Instagram.
Her post included photos that she said represented a very difficult time when she was also dealing with anorexia, as well as a “toxic” marriage from 2015-2020 with ex-husband Nick Holliday.
“I have to check myself and ask: ‘Why are you really sad?’ Because I like how I looked there — but I was also in the throes of my most disordered eating, in an abusive relationship, and so deeply unhappy.”
If you or someone you know struggles with body dysmorphia or an eating disorder, visit the National Eating Disorders (NEDA) website or call their hotline at (800) 931-2237 to get help.
