How wonderful is Ashley Graham?
She’s absolutely gorgeous, she poses in bikinis often, and she’s so very positive about her body — and about all bodies. So we’d say she’s pretty much the most wonderful.
Ashley first came to the world’s attention when she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition in 2015, the very first plus size model to do so.
And ever since then, she’s been a ray of light in this dark, dark world.
For her latest act of greatness, Ashley shared a photo of herself that was taken during her recent vacation to the Philippines.
The photo is focused on her belly and her thighs, and you can see her cellulite. And the message that she sent along with the photo is just amazing.
“I work out,” she wrote. “I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I’m in. And I’m not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite … and you shouldn’t be either.”
She added the hashtags “beauty beyond size” and “love the skin you’re in” for good measure.
What a lovely message, right?
The idea of loving yourself no matter what shouldn’t be revolutionary, but sadly, it is. Ashley is obviously doing her best to combat that notion, but still, you know the haters came out to play in the comment section.
One person told Ashley that “You may be beautiful you may be kind but being overweight is extremely unhealthy.”
Another said “Cut out sugar, eat more good fats limit carbs workout regularly your welcome.”
Another person had the nerve to suggest plastic surgery, saying that “If you want it gone it’s great plastic surgeons out there and new technology thats awesome to get ride of the cellulite etc.”
One person got on her very highest horse to say that “Visceral fat surrounding your organs is not healthy if your heavyset on the outside with cellulite you definitely have issues on the inside.”
“Glad she works out happy about that everyone should but still the proof is in the pudding.”
Other commenters kept it simple and hateful with statements like “Gross” and “Disgusting.”
What’s wrong with these people? It’s clear that they missed Ashley’s point almost as hard as they missed basic grammar lessons in elementary school.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being comfortable in your own skin, and it’s so disappointing that these people are going out of their way to make her feel like there is.
Luckily, the positive messages far outweighed the negative.
“I have dealt with body shaming/doubts all of my life and to see women like you embrace our beautiful bodies mean so much to me,” one person wrote. “Ashley, you are my hero.”
“I’m so happy you post stuff like this,” another told her. “You are so real and so beautiful and you make me fearless. Thank you for being you.”
One woman said that “The truth is, I AM ashamed of a few bumps and cellulite. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reminding me that I deserve to love myself right now, just as I am.”
Another delightfully pointed out that “You can’t spell cellulite without U Lit honey!”
And so there you have it. Ashley Graham is an amazing human being who does so much for so many people, and she should never, ever stop.
Also, haters should spend less time hating and more time working on defrosting their frozen, rotten hearts.