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

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

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"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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Meet Our Body Image Heroes
Adele(01 of17)
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Adele says she tries not to worry about her body image and doesn't want to be a "skinny minnie." "The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body -- only then should you try to change things about yourself." (credit:Facebook)
Lady Gaga(02 of17)
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After the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution." (credit:Facebook)
Christina Aguilera(03 of17)
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"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. (credit:Facebook)
Margaret Cho(04 of17)
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In a powerful 2012 piece for Jezebel, the comedian responded to people who criticized her appearance:
I grew up hard and am still hard and I don't care. I did not choose this face or this body and I have learned to live with it and love it and celebrate it and adorn it with tremendous drawings from the greatest artists in the world and I feel good and powerful like a nation that has never been free and now after many hard won victories is finally fucking free. I am beautiful and I am finally fucking free.
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Gina Rodriguez(05 of17)
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The Golden-Globe winner told HuffPost Live how her father shaped her perspective on beauty:
Beauty was very much on my mind. I had a father that would -- we would look up at billboards and he would say, "That's one version of beauty. You're another version of beauty. And she's a version of beauty. And that girl? She's another version of beauty." He always said that beauty came from within, and as much as you're younger and you're [sarcastically] like, "Yeah, beauty comes from within" -- no, beauty does come from within. I've met some of the most beautiful people, and sadly their heart is just not smiling, and that destroys it all. And then other people that aesthetically aren't considered as beautiful are the most gorgeous people I've ever seen in my life.
Rebel Wilson(06 of17)
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The actress took to Twitter to say, "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people." (credit:Facebook)
Ashley Judd(07 of17)
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After the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face," the actress fought back in The Daily Beast, calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others." (credit:Facebook)
Danielle Brooks(08 of17)
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The "Orange Is The New Black" actress wrote a powerful essay for Glamour about her struggles with self-esteem and journey to body love. She's now dedicated to making sure all body types are seen on-screen:"Ideally, I want to see all beauties, all shapes, all sizes, all skin tones, all backgrounds represented in my profession. Now that I am blessed to be that reflection I was once looking for, I’m making a promise to speak out for that little girl that I used to be." (credit:Getty)
Allison Tate(09 of17)
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Tate's essay about body image and motherhood not only broke the Internet; it has sparked a movement of "moms who stay in the picture." (credit:Allison Tate)
Gabourey Sidibe(10 of17)
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The "Precious" actress had the most incredible comeback to cruel comments about her weight.
Autumn Whitefield Madrano(11 of17)
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On her informed, thoughtful blog "The Beheld," Autumn writes about beauty, body image, appearance and her two -- that's right, two -- mirror fasts. (credit:Facebook)
Kjerstin Gruys(12 of17)
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Gruys went on a year-long mirror fast during which she did not study her reflection in mirrors or other reflective surfaces, or look at photographs of herself. (credit:Facebook)
Lena Dunham(13 of17)
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At the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show "Girls," why Dunham is naked in so many scenes. Dunham responded, "I realized that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. (credit:Facebook)
Alexa Chung(14 of17)
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Chung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." (credit:Facebook)
Stella Boonshoft(15 of17)
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The NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. (credit:Facebook)
Beth Ditto(16 of17)
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This 5-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to The Advocate, saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." (credit:Facebook)
Mindy Kaling(17 of17)
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In 2013 interview with Parade, Kaling said that she was tired of being discussing her appearance:"I always get asked, 'Where do you get your confidence?' I think people are well meaning, but it's pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, 'You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You're not skinny, you're not white, you're a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you're worth anything?'" (credit:Getty)

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.