Lili Reinhart has defended her criticism against Kim Kardashian’s 16 pound weight loss in order to fit in her Met Gala gown and acknowledged that she made her comments to address the “toxic behaviour” in her “industry”.
On Tuesday, the Riverdale star condemned the reality star’s three week diet, which consisted of cutting out all sugar and carbs and wearing a sauna suit, so she could fit in the dress Marilyn Monroe wore when serenading President John F Kennedy in 1962 on his birthday.
Reinhart called Kardashian out on her Instagram story and claimed that the diet could negatively impact the “millions of young men and women” who admire the Skims founder.
“To openly admit to starving yourself for the sake of the Met Gala. When you know very well that millions of young men and women are looking up to you and listening to your every word,” the actor wrote.
She also added that Kardashian’s diet was “so wrong” and “so f***ed on 100s of levels”.
The following day, Reinhart defended her comments in a Twitter post, noting how important it was for her to use her platform to address the “toxic behaviour” she’s seen in her “industry”.
“I do not say the things that I say because I want to be relevant or get attention,” she wrote. “I speak up because I don’t see enough people with large platforms calling out toxic behaviour in our industry. Some people will never understand where I’m coming from and that’s okay.”
Kardashian’s personal trainer, Don-A-Matrix, who worked with her before the Met Gala, has since responded to the backlash and defended the 41-year-old model in an interview withTMZ. According to Don, his client’s weight loss was not done in an unhealthy way, as she still “maintained a balanced diet” while “putting the work in”.
“I think one of the misconceptions people have about Kim is [that] she works really hard,” he said. “I was there through the process, so it wasn’t like a starving herself type of thing. I mean she’s been on a balanced diet. At times, she wouldn’t eat as much, but then the second thing was she’d be in the gym and put the work in.”
“It’s possible to lose 20 pounds in a healthy way,” he added.
Ahead of this year’s fashion event, Kardashian detailed what exercise routine and eating habits she had so she could fit in Monroe’s dress during an interview with Vogue.
She said that her daily lifestyle had included eliminating “sugars and carbs” and “eating the cleanest veggies”. She also noted that while she was “so strict,” she didn’t “starve [herself]”.
“I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” she explained. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
