Abigail Breslin Slams Gym Ads for Body Shaming Women: I'm 'Honestly Disgusted'
Abigail Breslin vehemently spoke out against some ads that she says were "preying on people's insecurities and perpetuating body image issues."
The Scream Queens star shared two advertisements from Gold's Gym Dreamland that she felt were body shaming women. According to a later statement released by Gold's Gym, these ads were done by their "sub-franchise in Cairo, Egypt."
One image shows a pear along with the message: "This is no shape for a girl."
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"Wow, honestly disgusted by this. @goldsgym, you should be ashamed of yourselves," she said of the ad on Instagram. "Things like this are the reason 9-year-old girls develop eating disorders."
Breslin added that she's all for exercise, but no one should be bullied into it. "Working out should be something you do for yourself, your health and your mind and body, not [because] a corporation declares your body shape isn't what girls should look like," she declared. "Interesting they had to single out females. Good job for preying on people's insecurities and perpetuating body image issues! Good thing I've never signed up for your gym, now I certainly never will."
The 20-year-old actress also called attention to another ad that showed a thin woman inside the outline of a larger woman. The message reads: "Challenge yourself."
"WOW @goldsgym how about CHALLENGE YOURSELF to not be a body shaming, ignorant, mean spirited company?" Breslin exclaimed.
Gold's Gym seemed just as offended by the ads as Breslin, and issued an apology on their Facebook page. "Words cannot express how shocked and appalled we were by the recent posts of Gold's Gym Dreamland, a sub-franchise in Cairo, Egypt. Not only were they offensive and disgusting, they go against everything we believe in and stand for," the statement reads. "Upon learning of this sub-franchisee's insensitive posts, we immediately took action by working with Facebook to have their page removed. Also, after consultation with our master franchise in Gold's Gym Egypt, we are in the process of expediting the termination of this sub-franchisee's agreement. This incident only confirms that Gold's Gym Dreamland does not uphold the values and inclusiveness that Gold's Gym promotes throughout our global network."
MORE: Abigail Breslin Defends Selena Gomez Against Bikini Haters
Breslin isn't the only young actress speaking out against body shaming. Having grown up in the public eye on Modern Family, Ariel Winter recently told ET that she's "struggled" with her body image for years, but credited some of her strong female colleagues for helping her come to accept and embrace her appearance.
"I really had the greatest opportunity to have some wonderful role models, especially Sofia Vergara," the 18-year-old star shared. "Working with a curvy beautiful woman that everybody looked up to and loved the way she looked… that was my inspiration to move forward and accept myself because that's what matters."
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