Kids

12 Celebs Who Have Been Body-Shamed During Pregnancy

Lottie Casas September 27, 2023

Celebrities have long been body-shamed, especially from the 1990s forward after the ultra-thin supermodel body type became the “standard.” With the introduction and surging popularity of social media in the decades that have followed, body-shaming has become the new norm — and even pregnant celebrities are targeted with ruthless abandon.

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While you may assume pregnant bodies are ridiculed for being “too big” — and you’re not wrong — many famous women have also faced backlash for being “too small.” For example, Kim Kardashian was ripped apart by both the media and the public for her weight gain with her pregnancies, but her sister Khloé was criticized for being too small while carrying her daughter. Similarly, Chrissy Teigen and Claire Holt were mocked for the size of their baby bumps, yet Coco Austin and Jaime King were meanly told they needed to eat more due to their smaller bump size.

Even Kate Middleton received an onslaught of public disapproval for her more petite frame while pregnant — regardless of the fact that she was diagnosed with a condition that caused intense nausea and frequent vomiting as a side effect of carrying her children. Too big, too small — women can’t win, which really just proves the weird obsession with body size and composition is not their problem. If others want to be bizarre and body-shame people who are miraculously creating life inside themselves, that’s a reflection of the critics, not of the pregnant individual’s worth.

Scroll on for a handful of celebrities who’ve been body-shamed while pregnant — your jaw will be on the floor in response to some of the abhorrent things said about these women.

• Claire Holt

  

  Directly addressing the commentary on her pregnant body on her Instagram in 2018, Claire Holt wrote, “If you would be so kind, please refrain from telling me how big/huge I am.”

  The actress quipped, “No, there are not two in there. No, my baby isn’t coming at Christmas. Yes, I am sure of his due date. I’m well aware that I’m carrying a linebacker. I’m understandably anxious about his exit strategy.” Holt sassily added, “Just pretend I’ve got a cute, barely noticeable bump and pass the ice cream. Many thanks!”

• Coco Austin

  

  Proving you just can’t win, Coco Austin faced criticism for being too small during her pregnancy in 2015. The model told Us Weekly, “Not every woman has the same pregnancy. I don’t really know what to say other than I have nothing to prove.”

• Elsa Pataky

  

  Elsa Pataky became the subject of Fashion Police criticism following her appearance at the 2014 Oscars with her husband Chris Hemsworth. Pregnant with twins at the time, Joan Rivers called the actress “huge” before co-host George Kotsiopoulos added his two cents.

  He began, “The last thing I wanna do is rip on a pregnant woman because it is incredible that you can do this with your bodies” — then Kotsiopoulos proceeded to do just that. “But I would be remiss to not … it’s a horrible dress on her. That doesn’t look like a baby bump, it looks like a beer belly,” he had the audacity to say.

• Chrissy Teigen

  

  After Chrissy Teigen shared the news of her first pregnancy and posted an accompanying bump pic, a shocking amount of people felt the need to express their belief that the cookbook author was “too big” to be carrying a single baby. 

  Teigen commented on the body-shaming narrative, tweeting, “Good thing I’m unoffendable, or this would be a rough few months. No more preg tweeting for me, lesson learned!!”

• Jaime King

  

  Receiving the complete opposite treatment, Jaime King was routinely told she needed to eat more when she shared moments of her pregnancy online. During a 2015 interview with American Baby, per TODAY, the actress revealed, “People have made comments about how I’m too thin and need to eat a sandwich.”

  King continued, “I’ve seen it happen with other pregnant women in this business too — we’re either too thin or put on too much weight. But every woman’s body is different … all that matters is that you’re taking care of the nutrition for yourself and your child,” she asserted. “So don’t let other people get you down, and don’t put other women down either.”

• Jessica Simpson

  

  During a 2014 interview with Redbook, Jessica Simpson called the media’s criticism of pregnant celebrities’ bodies “ridiculous and unfair.” The fashion designer opined, “I think any woman who is pregnant and creating a life is pretty much entitled to eat whatever she wants as long as she’s healthy.” Amen to that, sister.

  Of the body shaming she personally faced while carrying her kids in 2012 and 2013, Simpson said, “I wasn’t going to let the media take away from what was one of the happiest times in my life.”

• Kim Kardashian

  

  Kim Kardashian was body-shamed during both of her pregnancies. She was famously ridiculed for her Met Gala appearance while carrying North; then while she was pregnant with Saint, the SKIMS founder faced the same commentary on her body. Kardashian told C Magazine, per Elle, “Everyone would say, ‘She can’t stop eating.’ I delivered at 180, and they were like, ‘She’s 210 pounds.’”

  Speaking about the comments made specifically by the media, the mom of four shared, “After I had the baby, I was like, these are the same people that made fun of me, and posted the stories that were so awful, calling me fat for something I couldn’t control. I don’t want to smile for them.”

• Khloé Kardashian

  

  Facing the opposite type of pregnancy body shaming as her sister, Khloé Kardashian was called out for not being big enough while carrying her daughter. People shared their unsolicited opinions on Twitter, with one person writing, “She’s extremely tiny for almost 6 months and it’s kinda odd that she doesn’t have pregnancy swelling.”

  The Good American co-founder gracefully responded, “In the mornings my tummy seems smaller and later in the evening it pops out more. So I think.”

• Kate Hudson

  

  When Kate Hudson was pregnant with her second son in 2011, Hollywood Life published an article titled, “Careful With Those Cookies, Kate Hudson! Remember What Happened Last Time?” The site speculated the actress’ weight and criticized her cravings, admonishing her for eating too many sweets.

• Kate Middleton

  

  Like Jaime King, Kate Middleton was frequently labeled “too thin” during her pregnancies. While carrying her children, the princess suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes extreme nausea and vomiting — which obviously made it pretty difficult for Kate to eat and keep food down.

• Jenny McCarthy

  

  In 2015, the New York Post published a ridiculous article slandering multiple celebrity mothers for “taking ‘eating for two’ to heart” during their pregnancies. One of its targets was Jenny McCarthy, whom they wrote “had the mother of all pregnancy bellies, ballooning to 80 pounds” while carrying her son in 2002.

• Leah Remini

  

  Opening up about the unkind commentary surrounding her weight gain while pregnant in 2004, Leah Remini said, “No one wanted to talk about how I actually did lose the weight, just that I got fat.” Being body-shamed and fat-shamed is still absolutely abhorrent, even if the actress didn’t lose the weight.

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