Daily Mail Branded 'Sickening' After Asking Jennifer Aniston: 'Did You Overdo The Honeymoon Dinners?'

Daily Mail Branded 'Sickening' After 'Body Shaming' Jennifer Aniston

A Daily Mail article "shaming" Jennifer Aniston has come under fire after suggesting she ate too much on her honeymoon following her marriage to Justin Theroux.

The article, which leads with the headline "Oh Jen, did you overdo the honeymoon dinners?" has been branded as "sickening" and "triggering to people with eating disorders".

The author of the piece, which was published both online and in print, writes that Aniston "was photographed looking more rounded than usual" and that her "unforgiving work-out gear did little to disguise her weight gain".

The article has spawned mass outrage online with one blogger, Lily Lovett, writing a powerful piece entitled: "You’re no longer ‘unlucky in love’ so we’ll call you fat instead".

"This constant scrutiny and criticism fuels so many wide spread issues," writes Lovett. "We all know the Daily Mail is vile and appallingly written, but the way they victimise Jennifer Aniston is an attack on ALL women.

"She is merely a figure to represent us. If you are female, they are insulting you, criticising you, shaming you."

Leyah Shanks, positive body image campaigner and blogger for the Body Confidence Revolution, says that the article is "a sickening display of sensationalist media which centres itself around shame".

"This article is removing any sense of humanity and its key components such as compassion, empathy and understanding," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

"No wonder we have such a body shaming culture when this is considered news."

Meanwhile Twitter user Ariadne Griffin pointed out that the article could be "incredibly triggering" to people with eating disorders.

But Rebecca Field, head of communications for eating disorder charity Beat, disagrees.

She tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle that "eating disorders are complex and multi-causal" and, as a result, can't be caused solely by images and stories seen in the press.

She does add, however, that "we are consistently put under pressure from all areas of society to conform to the only body ideal it feels we should aspire to – slim and slender".

"Placing scrutiny on such minor fluctuations in an individual’s appearance can certainly exacerbate and trigger associated behaviour," she says.

"Why can’t we celebrate an individual for who they are and what they do, rather than placing a microscope up against how they look?"

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There is also the question of whether this kind of coverage stunts efforts to boost women's confidence when it comes to keeping fit, such as Sport England's #ThisGirlCan campaign.

A spokesperson for Sport England tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle: "Fear of being judged when exercising is exactly why we launched This Girl Can.

"It really doesn’t matter what you look like or how good you are, the fact that you’re doing something is what really matters and should be celebrated."

Amen to that.

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