Meghan Trainor, who sang “I won’t be no stick-figure silicone Barbie doll” in her 2014 anthem All About That Bass, shocked many of her fans when she attended a gala last weekend looking, as some have pointed out, exactly like that.Trainor, 31, has been honest about her weight-loss journey, which she attributes to lifestyle changes, working with a dietician, and using the weight-loss drug Mounjaro — an injectable Type 2 diabetes medication similar to Ozempic.Still, some fans were taken aback when the same person who once bopped, “My momma she told me ‘don’t worry about your size’,” and “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top,” showed off her drastically slimmed-down figure in a corseted gown Saturday.”Not about that bass anymore,” someone commented on Trainor’s Instagram post Sunday. “Such a pity that yet another body positive woman has yet again done exactly what they were suppose to be against,” wrote another.Trainor is just one of many celebrities — like Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, Lizzo and Oprah Winfrey — who have recently unveiled drastic body transformations. While society’s obsession with female bodies is nothing new, this wave of celebrities shedding pounds — often with the help of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic — has touched a cultural nerve. Articles describe the stars as unrecognizable. Columnists ask whether body-positivity was all a lie. And while some have bemoaned the supposed betrayal, others point out the hypocrisy of shaming women for losing weight and argue that people don’t owe anyone an explanation for their bodies.We’ve been policing and picking apart women’s bodies for decades, says Zorianna Zurba, a pop culture expert and professor at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. But now, with medical procedures and weight loss drugs, she says it’s almost as if we’re moving backward.And she says she can understand why this upsets so many people.”The frustration comes from feeling that we have been sold and we have been told two different things,” Zurba said.”It’s body positivity and body acceptance for some, and for those who can afford to look better, they do not need to accept what their body is.”Actor and comedian Amy Schumer poses in a photo posted to her official Instagram account on Nov. 11, 2025, in which she says she’s deleting all her previous posts. (@AmySchumer/Instagram)From ‘heroin chic’ to ‘chubby and curvy’The body-positivity movement, which researchers suggest emerged around 2012, was seen by many as a refreshing change from the 1990s and early 2000s when the “heroin chic” aesthetic was idealized thanks to gaunt celebrities like Kate Moss, and celebrities like Britney Spears, Kate Winslet are Jessica Simpson were shamed for being “fat.” Soon, it became common to see younger women pushing for a healthier body image and suggesting that abilities and non-physical characteristics mattered more than appearance. People called out body shaming on social media and embraced self love.Schumer, for instance, was known for taking a stand on body image, and has previously talked about “loving yourself how you are” and “feeling strong and sexy.” She also starred in a 2018 movie called I Feel Pretty that was about feeling confident at any size. She’s called out trolls who have commented on her size and refused professional retouching, saying she wants other women who see her “cellulite” and “rolls” to feel good about themselves.In 2022, she got liposuction. Earlier this year, in a now-deleted Instagram post, she revealed she was taking Mounjaro. Other celebrities, like Mindy Kaling, have often teased their own insecurities. A line from Kaling’s show The Mindy Project is often quoted by fans: “I’m not overweight, I fluctuate between chubby and curvy.” You can even buy prints of the quote on Etsy. In 2019, Kaling went viral on Instagram for posting two bikini pictures, adding that, “You don’t have to be a size 0” to enjoy wearing one. She, too, was recently called “unrecognizable” for slimming down, which she attributes to diet changes and exercise. Puts the focus back on weightThe body-positive movement was supposed to encourage acceptance and appreciation of all body types while challenging unrealistic beauty standards, Dr. Lindsay Bodell, an associate psychology professor at Western University who researches eating disorders, told CBC News.But seeing celebrities who’ve been promoting body positivity more focused on appearance and weight loss seems counter to that movement, she says.”And the more that we see images like this, it’s again just re-promoting the message about what our society values,” she said.WATCH | Nelly Furtado on embracing body neutrality:Why Nelly Furtado is embracing ‘body neutrality’The Canadian pop star, who’s faced critical comments about her appearance on social media, has spoken out about embracing a “body neutral” mindset. Here’s what it means and how it differs from body positivity. Psychologically, internalizing the idea that thin is ideal becomes problematic, Bodell said. It can potentially contribute to body dissatisfaction, increased negative emotions and eating disorders.The fact that many celebrities are now open about taking weight-loss drugs only amplifies the problem, she said, in part because the medications aren’t accessible to everyone.”It’s promoting a very specific body type that then is unrealistic and unattainable for the vast majority of people.”Hollywood has barely budgedEven amid the body-positivity movement, the ideal in Hollywood has barely budged, according to a 2022 report by The Representation Project. That report found only 6.7 per cent of characters in the decade’s most popular films were overweight, and none of them were in lead roles. They also found that overweight characters are more likely to be portrayed as funny or “stupid.”So amid that pressure, there’s another question emerging: why are we shaming celebrities for having the bodies that they want? On Wednesday, Schumer responded to the widespread media attention she received after deleting all her old Instagram posts and reels the night before, leaving only a post showcasing her new look.”Hey media outlets I didn’t delete my old photos because they were pre me losing weight. That’s a narrative you created. I’m proud of how I’ve looked always,” she wrote. In 2023, not long after Kaling was criticized for appearing at the Oscars in a corseted dress that accentuated her weight loss, experts who spoke with NBC argued she doesn’t owe it to anybody to be a body-positivity icon.“How is this a question about body positivity if we are shaming someone who chooses in their own way to be positive about their body,” Harleen Singh, an associate professor of South Asian literature and women’s studies at Brandeis University, told NBC. Meanwhile, Canadian singer Nelly Furtado recently faced a slew of body-shaming comments about her weight. Like the celebrities who have lost weight, Furtado, a proponent of body-neutrality, was also called “unrecognizable” on social media and in headlines — but in her case, it was for looking bigger.”In a way, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” pop culture expert Zurba said.”There are so many layers of possible shame.” WATCH | Can Ozempic help with drug and alcohol addiction?:Do drugs like Ozempic kill your desire for more than just food?Beyond weight loss and diabetes treatment, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have shown some early potential to treat drug and alcohol addiction. For The National, CBC’s Jennifer Yoon breaks down what the latest research reveals, and what scientists are still trying to figure out.
From fat-shaming to thin-shaming why we’re so mad when ‘body-positive’ celebs lose weight
