Some people just don't know when to keep quiet, which many ZAlebs have had to learn the hard way. When did it become trendy or even marginally okay to make derogatory comments about someone else's body.
Surely none of us is perfect, and if we all started pointing out each other's insecurities... Let's just say "an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind" and leave it at that.
These are some ZAlebs who have dealth with insensitive fat-shaming.
Surely none of us is perfect, and if we all started pointing out each other's insecurities... Let's just say "an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind" and leave it at that.
These are some ZAlebs who have dealth with insensitive fat-shaming.
Lesego "ThickLeeyonce" Legobane
Can you imagine having the audacity to fat-shame a Fenty model? No? Well, us neither. Yet that is exactly what ThickLeeyonce has to deal with on a regular basis. Every time she dorns a bikini or lingerie, the negative comments come in, which is insane because Lesego looks absolutely stunning!
For her 28th birthday in 2021, she wore Rich Mnisi to flaunt her curves, and yes, it burned them to see it. But she has learned to mize all the hate, which is a skill she often shares with her fans and followers who may be thick like her.
Read also: The Biggest Lesson Thickleeyonce Has Learned
Inno Morolong
Now, listen. Fat-shaming is never right, and everybody deserves to feel beautiful and at home in their own body. But Inno Morolong makes it so hard to defend her. The club-promoter is one of the meanest bullies on social media, but she turns around and cries when she gets as good as she gives.
She recently got emotional about the fact that Tebogo Thobejane shared a video of her getting plastic surgery, where she cried about having been bullied when she was younger. While she absolutely reserves the right to share her story at her own time, she had also, not long before, bullies Gigi Lamayne for her looks.
We are not judging her, but Inno, perhaps it's time to treat others the way you want them to treat you?
Read also: Inno Morolong Dragged For Her Alleged Assault Case
Minnie Dlamini
Not too long ago, Minnie Dlamini was Mzansi's heartthrob, who could do no wrong. But how fickle fans' adoration is, as she found herself on the other side of the coin. Minnie got married in 2017, and just had a baby in 2021.
Any of you who has been in a happy, stable and loving relationship is familiar with "relationship weight", which is what has made Minnie a target. You would think the trolling would stop for a woman who literally just created life by carrying a whole human, but I guess the rules are different for celebrities? The weirdest part is that at her "worst", she still looks better than most of the haters at their best.
Read more: Unathi's Viral Video Lands Minnie In Trouble
Anele Mdoda
Few ZAlebs have had to endure as much online bullying as radio personality Anele Mdoda. It’s a wonder whether she just rubs people the wrong way, or whether they consider her an easy target to pick on. From her dressing, to the fact that she was hanging out with Trevor Noah, who fans consider “out of her league”, to being considered not pretty.
But the most common insult to her is because of her body size, and it gets particularly nasty when she has a spat with American R&B singer Kelly Rowland, with whom she has been beefing. Some consider it fair game to slander Anele because she called Kelly “average” when most of Mzansi can agree that Kelly is anything but “average”. But we’ll let you decide for yourself the merits of bullying a bully.
Zodwa Wabantu
It's bad enough to wake up and have negative opinions about somebody else's body, but imagine thinking Zodwa Wabantu is the kind of woman to make such comments to. She has been on the receiving end of a lot of hate about her body and looks, with many calling her unattractive.
As you would expect, the exotic performer immediately shut down the trolls, because nobody has time for that kind of negativity in this economy. Zodwa has made it unequivocally clear that she will be laughing at the hate all the way to the bank, as it is her “unattractive body” that pays her bills. Now, that’s how you handle a troll.
Read more: Zodwa's Message To Fat-Shamers
Boity Thulo
Boity Thulo can never catch a break on Twitter streets. While she was just trying to enjoy a nice birthday, the trolls came knocking. One expressed their strong disappointment on her cellulite and "fluctuating weight", like we all just get to put our expectations on celebrities then get upset when they are not met. Insane!
But Boity is confident about her body, as she should be. She has continued to bless us with fire pictures of herself in a bikini or short shorts, and we love to see it. She is the human representation of grace, and we cannot understand why a stranger would think their “disappointment” would stop her from posting photos she loves.
Read more: Boity Gets Body Shamed
Ntando Duma
This is where it gets ridiculous; Ntando Duma has also been fat-shamed. By all accounts, Ntando is considered petite, which would make you think she would be immune from fat-shaming. But it looks like nobody can meet the lofty body standards.
In the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown, everybody gained a little weight from staying indoors. And when Ntando Duma posted a picture of herself, fans were quick to comment on her outfit, saying it exposed too much belly fat. But she handled it like a boss babe, as we would expect.
Read more: Ntando Duma Claps Back At Body Shamer
Amanda du Pont
Was the previous one not ridiculous enough for you? Here is another one. Amanda du Pont has also been a victim of fat-shaming. Hers is particularly confusing, because she is also often skinny-shamed, and told that she needs to have more junk in the trunk.
It seems that people just can’t make up their minds on what kind of body they expect from her. When she showed up at the Style Awards in 2020, a social media user told her she had gained weight and looked fat in her tight white dress. But she too had a classy response to that nonsense.
Cassper Nyovest
Well, as it turns out, it’s not just women subjected to insane body standards, as Cassper Nyovest found out. He went online to look back at his journey to success, and even got emotional thinking about how far he has come. But fans noticed everything “wrong” with his look in the video.
He was dragged for putting on weight, and many even said that he looked like a rugby player. At the time, his baby mama Thobeka Majozi was expecting their baby and Cass had joked that he, too, was eating for two. But he unwittingly gave trolls ammunition to drag him.
Lamiez Holworthy
DJ Lamiez is probably one of Mzansi’s least problematic celebrities. She doesn’t do celeb beef, and she barely ever speaks ill to her fans; all she does is work hard and love her man. But that has not spared her from the hate nonetheless.
The DJ loves to wear shorts and dance, and she looks great doing it . But there are fans who think that she does not have “the right thighs for shorts”, which we didn’t realise was a thing until we heard it from them. She gets cyber bullied so much that other ZAlebs are often forced to step in and defend her, which is heartbreaking.
Heavy K
House DJ and producer Heavy K has also been a victim of body-shaming. As he went to social media to share a full body snap of himself, he was met with the worst hate and negativity. He was called all manner of disgusting and derogatory names.
Luckily, that was not the music producer’s first rodeo, and he was ready with his clapback. He fought fire with fire, responding “Y’all can go eat iK**a [s**t] I'm immune to this energy I know myself very well." We stan a thick-skinned king!
Read more: Heavy K Hits Back At Trolls
It's great that all of these ZAlebs have found a way to mize all the negativity. Cyber bulllying can lead one to depression and unhealthy coping mechanisms, which we wouldn't wish on anyone, especially our favourite ZAlebs.