It was a dream come true when Bridget Malcolm walked the Victoria’s Secret runway last month, but the Australian model has admitted that the lead-up to the world-renowned show was “boring” and that the post-show body shaming she’s receiving “sucks”.
Speaking to 104.1’s Rove and Sam, the blonde beauty said, “You’re walking in your underwear in front of millions of people, so for me that meant twice daily workouts, lots of sleep and water. It’s very boring,” noting that she had a lot of protein shakes, vegetables and “early nights” during the prep stage.
Bridget’s hard, and somewhat mundane, work to get her bod in shape for the show made it harder for her to digest the body shaming she received online. “Anyone who knows me knows how much time and effort I put in to it,” she told Rove and Sam.
“[Body shaming] definitely does bother me, because the second people make comments claiming I have an eating disorder or something, it’s like, for me that is hurtful because it’s so obviously not the case.”
Taking up her role model status, Bridget used the opportunity to encourage other body shaming victims to stand up to their bullies. “Don’t be shy to bring a spotlight on body shaming. It’s such a problem right now for young people online, and it is stoppable,” she said.
“Do something like what I did and make a point and let people know that you’re aware. I think people forget that there’s a person at the other end of that Instagram post who does see the comments, and it sucks.”
Also, she wants us all to remember who the winner is in a situation like that, explaining, “You have to remember that you’re living your life and they are the ones commenting on it.”
Well said, Bridget.
[Via 104.1]
