On Monday, country singer Miranda Lambert took to her blog to defend her recent weight loss, because, apparently, celebrities have to defend even the proudest moments of their lives. When she debuted a slimmer look at the 2013 Country Music Awards, Lambert probably expected accolades. She'd clearly put in some hard work to change her shape, but when the chips fell, chatter had determined that Lambert had not earned her glam night. Rumor had it she'd received plastic surgery to achieve her svelte look. This, to put it simply, is utter bullshit.
Somehow, in a realm of celebrity gossip that prizes women with tiny figures and lambastes women with any slight weight gain, flying those hateful comments under the flag of "health concerns," a woman can't even reach one of her personal goals without incurring some form of criticism.
Now, I'm not one to say that a woman's figure or appearance should ever be prized over her other talents, but as someone who's gone through weight loss transformations, I can attest: it's not easy. There is a reason the weight loss industry is so huge; everyone is looking for an easy fix. Perhaps that's why those rumors came into being: weight loss is hard, so there's no way Lambert came by her new body honestly, of course.
The problem is that while appearance isn't everything, there's a certain amount of work (change of diet, routine, lifestyle) that goes into losing weight the healthy way. And that certain amount is "a ton." Lambert worked extremely hard to achieve her goal, a journey she outlines in her blog post in which she says she lost weight "the old fashioned way." Here's her full statement:
Though I NEVER care what the tabloids have to say about me… I wanted to address this certain story they are running this week and set the record straight. I DID NOT have surgery to lose weight. That is ridiculous. I lost my weight the healthy and good old fashioned way. Watching what I eat and working out with my trainer Bill Crutchfield. As for the assumed number of pounds lost…? I don’t even know! Like I have always said, it’s not about a scale, it’s about how you feel and how your jeans fit. And on November 10th when I turned 30, my skinny jeans were finally baggy! Mission accomplished! So for anyone who is tempted to read the “Trash Talk” please don’t. I am proud to be a normal size girl and I want to encourage everyone to be confident at any size. Thanks for the support yall!
Cheers,
Miranda
It certainly lets the rest of us off the hook if we go around believing Lambert had surgery to remove the weight — well, of course I can't diet my way to that body, she cheated to get hers — but that sort of claim just highlights the problem with the prevalent brand of celebrity worship.
People want stars to be "just like us!" They want to believe that it's possible to share traits and habits with celebs; they want to go the same restaurants as celebs; they want to wear the same clothes. But Lambert's need to defend her healthy weight loss is just further proof that some fans use celebrities like emotional voodoo dolls.
If they feel terrible, they do everything in their power to transfer that pain to the celebrity. When they want to feel good, they sap the good energy from celebs by seeking ways to compare themselves to famous people. It's a vicious cycle that leaves celebrities afraid to go to the grocery store without makeup and that means every good thing they accomplish comes into question.
It'd be nice to think that one day, a famous woman could give birth to a child, gain weight, or manage to fit into her skinny jeans without something negative being thrown her way. Of course, that would mean there'd be nothing to talk about when a celeb's body changed (in most instances) and lord knows that simple human decency is so much more boring than ripping someone to shreds.
