Lily James Shuts Down The Criticism About Her Body

First things first: It's sad that the weight and physical appearance of young Hollywood starlets is still a topic people give themselves the right to critique in this day and age. Case in point: People are calling out actress Lily James for having a tiny waist in the upcoming Cinderella film, and it's absolutely disgraceful. Why is her body anyone's business? Why do we always have to talk about someone being "too fat," or "too skinny"? Though she absolutely shouldn't have to, Cinderella 's Lily James responded to critics of her waist size in the film — and thankfully, she shut them down beautifully.

In response to the body criticism, James asked in her response to critics: "On one hand, it's upsetting. On the other hand, it's just boring. Why do women always get pointed at for their bodies?"

This is the same question that I have: The fact of the matter is, we should not be talking about anyone's body. In the case of actors and actresses like James, we should be talking about their work or their personality in interviews — to speak of anyone's physical appearance, especially in an ill manner, is wrong and should absolutely not be happening in an age where body acceptance is getting more and more attention by the day.

The actress also articulately defended herself: "And, you know, I'm very healthy and I always have been. And why is this whole thing happening that I'm constantly having to justify myself? International Women's Day has just gone, and it just feels just a bit sad that it's still happening. And, you know, I'm very healthy and I always have been."

She is so right — not only is any criticism about her body wrong, but it also detracts from her performance in the upcoming Cinderella. We should be diverting our attention elsewhere, like on the film itself.

Plus, we need to take Lily James's role as the classic Cinderella character into account: She's portraying a princess from another time period. This means that she was styled in a manner that is indicative of a whole different era — James wore a dress with a corset and a ball gown skirt, so of course those contrasting proportions are going to make her waist look thin. It's in the nature of Cinderella's costume. Sandy Powell, the woman who designed Cinderella's dress for the ball, explained the outfit: "It goes in at the waist and the skirt is big and full so that it accentuates the shape."

Lily James' body should not be a topic of conversation. It is sad that she needs to justify her "teeny waist" in interviews, and takes away from the film Cinderella itself.