Camila Cabello is getting real about her body image.
Over the weekend, the 25-year-old “Never Be the Same” singer took to Instagram to share a selfie paired with a lengthy and important message after spending the day at the beach being inconspicuously photographed by the paparazzi when she was “vulnerable and unprepared.”
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Camila Cabello is calling out the paparazzi for snapping photos of her at the beach when she was “vulnerable and unprepared.”
This isn’t the first time that the “Havana” singer has gotten candid about her body image.
As a celebrity, Cabello is no stranger to receiving commentary on her figure.
In 2019, the former Fifth Harmony songstress took to her Instagram story, revealing that she has learned how to be comfortable in her own skin, and urged others to also practice self-love.
“I haven’t gone on social media at all with the conscious intention of avoiding things that hurt my feelings,” she wrote, adding that she had accidentally skimmed over a headline that she found hurtful.
“Honestly, first thing I felt was super insecure just imagining what these pictures must look like, ‘Oh no! My cellulite! Oh no! I didn’t suck in my stomach!’ But then I was like, ‘Of course, there are bad pictures, of course, there are bad angles, my body’s not made of [expletive] rock, or all muscle, for that matter,” she went on.
“But the saddest part of young girls growing up in an airbrushed world, is they’re seeking perfection that isn’t real. I’m writing this for girls like my little sister who are growing up on social media,” Cabello continued.
“They’re constantly seeing Photoshopped, edited pictures and thinking that’s reality,” she added.
She pointed out that everyone’s “eyes have gotten so used” to seeing altered images of people, that they’ve forgotten what natural beauty looks like.
“It’s fake,” she penned. “And fake is becoming the new real.”
“We have a completely unrealistic view of women’s bodies. Girls, cellulite is normal. It’s beautiful and natural. I won’t buy into the bull—- today.”
Cabello is hitting back at body-shamers once again, after seeing photos taken of her by the paparazzi while she was at the beach.
She explained that this wasn’t the first time she had been “papped” while at the beach in Miami, but she admitted that she is finding the criticism of her body to be largely due to being photographed when she isn’t ready.
“[E]very time I’ve felt super vulnerable and unprepared — I’ve worn bikinis that were [too] small and paid no mind to how I looked, then saw pictures online and comments and been so upset,” she wrote.
“I reminded myself when it impacted my [self-]esteem that I was thinking the culture’s thoughts and not my own. A culture who has gotten so used to an image of what a ‘healthy’ woman’s body looks like that is completely not real for a lot of women,” she continued, admitting that this time she had made an effort to look photo-ready at the beach.
“Today I got a new bikini, a whole [expletive] cute outfit, put lip gloss on, and didn’t eat anything too heavy before going in the OCEAN cause I knew it was gonna be basically a whole photoshoot,” she went on.
Cabello confessed that despite her best efforts, it was one of the worst times she’s ever had at the beach.
“I held my core so tight my abs hurt and didn’t breathe and barely smiled and was so self-conscious of where the paps were the whole time,” she penned. “I couldn’t let go and relax and do what we’re meant to do when we go out into nature.”
“I knew I looked ‘good’ in the pictures and thought I would feel accomplished and yet I’ve never had a worse time at the beach,” the singer wrote.
She pointed out that by being focused on her looks, she was ultimately not living in or enjoying the moment.
“We see pictures of women and praise them for looking good, for looking fit or ‘healthy’, but what is health if you are so fixated on what your body looks like that your mental health suffers and you can’t enjoy your life?” she asked, adding that looking attractive isn’t worth compromising letting loose and having fun.
“Who am I trying to look attractive for and am I even attractive to myself if I can’t let loose and relax and have fun and be playful on a beautiful day at the beach?” she said .
She concluded by revealing to fans that she was hiding out in the “pool area” where she was staying.
She was hiding, “Where hopefully they can’t get me but they literally hide in the bushes sometimes I’m exhausted.”