Actor Alicia Silverstone just replied to a TikTok video which calls out those who body shamed her following the release of her 1997 movie, Batman & Robin. TikTok user @foreversymone created a clip demanding 'Justice for Batgirl' and took a deep-dive into an especially awful article written about Alicia at the time of the film's debut.
One particularly cruel line focusses on the Clueless star's weight and refers to her as "Babe the Pig" and saw her harshly nicknamed "Fatgirl". As Forever Symone breaks down all the awful body shaming that was directed towards Alicia, in her duet of the clip, Alicia can be seen reacting by nodding along in agreement.
"Y'all have her f*cked up," says the TikTok user, bringing up a photo of the article. "The headline literally reads 'A Weighty Issue' and in this article they compare her to Babe the Pig, all for having a full-figured face. They were obsessed with her weight... All she did was breathe!"
Alicia then can be heard saying "Excuse me?!", "Yes" and "I love you!" in response, further affirming how spot on Forever Symone is with her observations.
Forever Symone then adds, "As a fat woman who grew up obsessed with Clueless, who grew up obsessed with this movie that is pure camp, it just makes me very frustrated to know that… she couldn't have been more than 130 [pounds] and they were straight-up ripping on her constantly over this."
She then ends her impassioned video by demanding that certain US publications apologise to Alicia for their previously cruel words.
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In a former interview, Alicia herself opened up about the impact that media commentary such as this had on her as a young person, and how it saw her actively choose to step away from Hollywood.
"It was really just extreme how I was being talked to and talked about," she revealed in an interview with The Guardian last year. "I think I just got really turned off by it."
Alicia added, "They would make fun of my body when I was younger. It was hurtful but I knew they were wrong. I wasn't confused. I knew that it was not right to make fun of someone's body shape, that doesn't seem like the right thing to be doing to a human.
"I didn't say 'fuck you' and come out like a warrior but I would just walk away and go, 'OK I know what that is and I'm done, I'm not going near that again'... I stopped loving acting for a very long time."
It's amazing that Alicia is speaking out now. Here's hoping that no other actor has to go through a similar experience in future.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
