HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Scarlett Johansson is fed up with the tabloids continuing to feed the public's fascination to look like a star.
The 24-year-old actress writes on the Huffington Post that she was pushed over the edge by several recent articles that claimed she had lost 14 pounds while training for "Iron Man 2."
I'm a petite person to begin with, so the idea of my losing this amount of weight is utter lunacy," writes Johansson. "If I were to lose 14 pounds, I'd have to part with both arms. And a foot. I'm frustrated with the irresponsibility of tabloid media who sell the public ideas about what we should look like and how we should get there."
The young star points out that as many as 10 million females and 1 million males living in the U.S. have either anorexia or bulimia eating disorders.
"I'm someone who has always publicly advocated for a healthy body image and the idea that the media would maintain that I have lost an impossible amount of weight by some sort of 'crash diet' or miracle workout is ludicrous," says Johansson. "I believe it's reckless and dangerous for these publications to sell the story that these are acceptable ways to looking like a 'movie star.'
"It's great to get tips on how to lead a healthier lifestyle, but I don't want some imaginary account of 'How She Did It!' I get into and stay in shape by eating a proper diet and maintaining a healthy amount of exercise. The press should be held accountable for the false ideals they sell to their readers regarding body image — that's the real weight of the issue."
Johansson says she hopes to media corrects the problem and does away with the harmful messages they feed the public.
"I would be absolutely mortified to discover that some 15-year-old girl in Kansas City read one of these 'articles' and decided she wasn't going to eat for a couple of weeks so she too could 'crash diet' and look like Scarlett Johansson," she says.
- Comment
