The 'Riverdale' star explained why she won't stay silent when it comes to facing criticism about her body.
Lili Reinhart is speaking out about being body shamed on social media and why she won't stay quiet on the matter.
The Riverdale star found herself at the center of pregnancy rumors after an “unflattering” photo showed her hanging out with costar and boyfriend, Cole Sprouse, over Memorial Day Weekend.
“It’s unfortunate that one unflattering photo of my stomach circulating the internet causes hundreds of people to think that I’m pregnant,” she later shared on Instagram. “Nope. Not pregnant.”
ET’s Nischelle Turner caught up with the gorgeous 21-year-old star at the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards at Brooklyn Museum in New York City on Monday, where she explained why she felt it was important to speak out about the rumors.
“I feel like a lot of people say you should just sweep it under the rug, don’t pay attention to it, but that’s never really been my style,” Reinhart said. “Maybe some people find that obnoxious, but I felt the need to say, ‘No. I'm not pregnant.’
“And also, if I was, it's kind of sad that people felt the need to make my weight a topic of conversation, but it's just the world we live in,” she added. “I'm going to always speak out about something that I feel I need to talk about.”
Reinhart admitted that the speculation upset her and took a knock to her self-esteem.
“It was bugging me and at first it was really upsetting,” she said. “I'm 21 -- I'm not pregnant [and] I don’t want people to think I'm pregnant if I'm not pregnant. It did take a hit to my self-esteem for a second and then I kind of picked myself back up and said, ‘I'm not going to let this ruin my day!’”
And having a great day was exactly what the actress was doing in New York, telling ET that she was “honored” to be able to attend the glitzy fashion awards.
“Fashion is always something that I've really gravitated to,” she said. “It's something that I want to experience. – the fashion world -- more so than I already have. I just started making my way into Hollywood and into this whole world, so I'm just happy to be here, happy to be wearing this beautiful dress and I just want to keep wearing beautiful dresses!”
See more on Reinhart and the CFDA Fashion Awards below.
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