Stacey Solomon has accused Now magazine of bullying, after they ran a cover that called her ‘boring, cheap and desperate’.
The ‘Loose Women’ panellist called out the women’s weekly on Twitter after their latest issue was released, calling it the “meanest thing she’d ever seen”
The publication carried an image of Stacey on the front alongside the headline: “Stacey: ‘Boring’, ‘Desperate’, ‘Cheap’ - Why Fans Are Sick Of Her”.
The inside story was built on a handful of negative comments made about the star on social media, who questioned her authenticity and behaviour.
After seeing the cover, Stacey tweeted a picture of it, commenting: “That’s the meanest thing I’ve ever seen @celebsnow.”
When the magazine failed to respond to her overnight, Stacey tweeted them again, questioning why they feel the need to “constantly tear people down in a bullying manner”.
She tweeted to her 1.4 million followers: “Why the silence @celebsnow u created an entire cover based on the opinions of maybe 3 people & now there are almost a thousand people holding Now accountable as to why u feel u need to constantly tear people down in a bullying manor & it’s as u haven’t seen ur 900+ notifications [sic].”
Stacey was inundated with support from fans and many famous faces, including Vicky Pattison, Olly Murs and Ashley Roberts.
The former ‘X Factor’ star later issued a fuller response to the article, where she critiqued other damaging pieces of content from the publication.
Noting the news today that 24% of 14-year-olds are self-harming, Stacey noted: “The saddest part of this publication is that, inside of this magazine, it goes from telling girls to get a revenge body (because it must be their body that caused any upset in their lives and change that is the only way to fix it), to Stacey’s celebrating her natural body and we are bored of it.
“Enter the statistic out today - 1/4 of 14 year olds are self harming because they don’t feel good enough.”
She continued: “The best thing to come out of this is that thousands of people disagree with this awful, bullying, insecure-pushing journalism and won’t stand for it.
“The best thing to come out of social media is learning that most people are inherently kind, want to build people up and work together in creating a kinder, safe environment for everyone around them.”
She added: “Kind people and your support never ceases to amaze me. It’s because of you that eventually people won’t feel so insecure and low about themselves. So thank you.”
In response to the furore, a Now magazine spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “The story featured in this week’s issue of Now magazine regarding Stacey Solomon was written on the basis of social media comments about Stacey and is not the opinion of Now magazine.
“As a publication, we simply aim to inspire debate amongst our readers about their favourite celebrities and TV stars, including Stacey.
“We do not encourage or condone bullying in any form. We apologise to Stacey for any distress our story may have caused.”
On Wednesday, Stacey also appeared on BBC Radio 5Live to discuss the matter, where she further questioned the message magazines like Now are sending young women.
She told Anna Foster: “I think a lot of people think it is part and parcel of the job and it’s water off a duck’s back, don’t worry.
“And the majority of the time I do try and adopt that mentality because I don’t want anybody to have the power to make me feel a certain way. I want to be in control of how I feel and, you know, no matter how much somebody tries to drag me down I want to be able to go “NO…I am not allowing you to do that”…
“But sometimes it does get in, I am a human being and sometimes it does really hurt.
“It’s not so much the comments towards me that really upset me I think it’s the insinuation that nobody is good enough and the message that sends out to people and the effect that it has on people that actually really brings me down more than anything.”
She continued: “As I continue to read inside the magazine it is just the messages we are giving out to people who might not have been able to spend the last 10 years building up a thick enough skin to bat these comments away - and subliminally telling people they are not good enough, that they need to change and that’s why they’re getting dumped or their relationship has broken down or they’re losing friends, it’s because they’re not good enough.
“I just think that’s an awful, awful message and it really does get to you sometimes, you just think “I cannot believe this circus” ..and “why we are doing this to young people?”
It is not the first time the magazine has faced criticism from a high-profile name.
Back in March, Scarlett Moffatt slammed the publication over an article titled: “Scarlett: A Brand New Face! Surgeons Warn She’s Going Too Far”.
Denying their claims of surgery, she said: “Ladies, women, girls... despite what most media thrusts upon you ... we are more than an aesthetic shell. I like to stay positive & focus on my fellow females achievements... as woman we are more than our looks, weight, clothes, our partner!!
“Stay strong & let’s not let this 2018 social conformity of behaving a certain way bring us down!! In the words of Little Mix’s Jade: ‘we can wear what we want & twerk if we want’,” she added.