Warning: This article contains references to anorexia and eating disorders.
Tess Holliday has hit back at a troll who questioned her medical diagnosis.
The 38-year-old has been open and honest with fans about the battles she’s facing with her body after recently being diagnosed with the eating disorder anorexia in 2021.
However, one user believed the star was not actually “anorexic” because of their misconceptions about the illness, and proceeded to leave a hate comment telling Holliday to “cut the bull.”
“What mistakes r u owning? Maybe own the fact ur not anorexic and just wanted attention? No one wants u dead, we just want u to cut the bull,” they wrote under one of the model’s previous videos.
Addressing the comment in another video, Holliday said: “Just because you don’t like that I exist in a larger body and I deal with a restrictive eating disorder, doesn’t give you the right to just be a jerk.”
She then went on to educate her followers about how the disease can impact people of all body shapes and sizes, stating that just because we’re not used to seeing it on a person with a “larger body”, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
She then referred viewers to a New York Times article titled “You Don’t Look Anorexic,” which was published back in 2022 and addressed misconceptions around anorexia.
The article featured larger-bodied people who have battled or are battling the illness.
Holliday then continued with her rant.
“I also can’t blame you for not knowing because I myself did not know. The more folks that talk about it and the more folks that normalize it, then the less that we will have to deal with people like this, who think that they deserve to say whatever because they don’t like what they are hearing or seeing,” she said.
While she’s come to terms with the diagnosis, the 38-year-old confirmed that she’s still only just “managing.”
“I wish I was in a good place with my recovery and I felt like this is something I wanted to talk about more, but I currently don’t,” she said before adding: “I’m currently just managing things the best I can, and if you don’t like what I’m saying or how I talk about my lived experiences, then there are a million other people that you can follow, bully, harass, whatever.”
Watch the full video below:
This isn’t the first time the star has been forced to speak out and defend herself.
Holliday also recently called out another follower for only following “really big fat ppl” for weight loss inspiration.
“That is all happening in a bubble. You are seeking out [the] 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,” she said in another video.
“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 continued.
“I am fatter right now than I’ve been in a while, but I’m also happier. There’s so many people commenting lately saying they can see my joy radiating and that’s how other people see me,” she added.
