Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado confronts online body shamers
Former beauty queen Alicia Machado is confronting body shamers who claim she’s “chubby” and “overweight.”
Machado posted an Instagram photo of herself on Aug. 25 wearing a red lace jumpsuit at the Premios Tu Mundo award show in Miami. According to People, commenters wrote, “As a public figure, you’re overweight in my opinion. Those clothes do not suit her,” and “You look chubby. I don’t know if it’s your undergarments, but the extra pounds are noticeable.”
A post shared by Alicia Machado (@machadooficial) on Aug 25, 2017 at 9:12am PDT
Machado clapped back by directly replying: “Yes and I still have another 5 pounds more to gain to appear even fatter for the next character that I will be playing.”
The Telemundo television host, however, received lots of support on Twitter after being body-shamed.
@machadooficial you looked amazing in that red outfit. Don't listen to idiots.
— keepdachief! (@pwrmaster7) August 30, 2017
@machadooficial Don't know why people go after you about your weight. You look great from what I saw!
— Chris Hamre (@ChrisHamre) August 30, 2017
@machadooficial Also wanted to say, that it sounds like people are just jealous of you and only wish they had the career you have.
— Paul Craft (@smallville4174) August 30, 2017
During the 2016 presidential election, Machado made headlines after revealing that in 1996 Donald Trump called her “Miss Piggy” after she was crowned Miss Universe (back then, Trump owned the yearly pageant) and subsequently gained 40 pounds. At the time, the event prompted Trump to call her an “eating machine” on the Howard Stern Show, adding of the then 19-year-old, “She weighed 118 pounds or 117 pounds and she went to 160 or 170. So this is somebody that likes to eat.”
According to Inside Edition, Trump took Machado to a gym, and at one point Trump was asked by a reporter what he would do if then-wife Marla Maples gained weight. “Well, I’d probably do the same thing with her,” he said. “I’d say, ‘Start working out.’ No, I wouldn’t. Still, a very interesting question.”
In 2006, Machado posed nude for Playboy magazine, but she has claimed that Trump’s treatment caused her to struggle with disordered eating, even writing in a blog for Women’s Health magazine that she never experienced body-image issues before her clash with Trump.
In September, Machado joined forces with Hillary Clinton. During a speech in Florida, the former secretary of state spoke of Machado as an example of Trump’s treatment toward women. “Look at what he does. He calls women ugly, disgusting, nasty, all the time. He calls women pigs, rates bodies on a scale of 1 to 10,” Clinton said, adding, “Can we just stop for a minute and reflect on the absurdity of Donald Trump finding fault with Miss Universe? But, you’ve got to ask, why does he do these things? Who does this? I will tell you who: a bully, that is who.”
Given that Machado has called Trump “aggressive” and “really rude,” we’re sure she can handle a few online trolls just fine.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
