Actor Harley Quinn Smith has taken to Instagram to speak out about an all too common problem on social media—body-shaming.
The actor was sparked to action after photos she posted on Instagram inspired a troll to ask her why she isn't "skinny" since she's been vegan for more than five years.
Smith posted a heartfelt and pointed response to her profile that explains why comments like her troll's are not only hurtful, but misguided in ways that can be dangerous to others.
See her response below.
The troll's comment was posted in response to a photo Smith posted of herself in a bathing suit.
In it, the commenter demanded to know how Smith could “gain so much weight” since as a vegan, she is “supposed to be skinny.” In her response, Smith began by shutting down the notion that there is a vegan body type in the first place.
She wrote:
“There are a lot of misconceptions about veganism and dieting."
"First of all, every single person's body and what healthy looks like on their body is going to look different, vegan or not."
"So that being said, there is no such thing as one vegan body type."
She went on to clarify that her weight and health are not even the reasons she became vegan. Rather it was a choice she made in order to align with her animal rights beliefs.
“When someone asks about my weight, relating it to veganism, I'm just like ... no matter what my weight is, or what my body looks like, I would never choose to live another way because it's what I believe in."
Smith then addressed body-shaming head-on, calling it "unnecessarily negative and harmful," and calling for people to be more kind in their interactions on social media.
“Loving yourself isn't always easy, it certainly isn't for me, so why try to make that journey harder for anyone?..."
"...[P]lease... think and act more compassionately."
"The world is dealing with enough right now, please think about how you can better spend your time to positively impact someone's day, instead of saying hurtful s**t on the internet. Life is too short."
Smith's trolls may have had negative opinions about her body, but her fans and friends had nothing but love for her on Instagram.
@theisabellaferreira/Instagram
@doktor_pandemonium/Instagram
@mandy.edgar_/Instagram
@stevenjburnette/Instagram
@_tee_bear_/Instagram
@jerzeycaligirl/Instagram
@cerinavincent/Instagram
@jordanmonsanto/Instagram
@anthonykeyvan/Instagram
Now THIS is how you treat people on social media. Let's all take notes!
@elleuk/Instagram
@elleuk/Instagram
Herman Mehta/Friendly Atheist