It’s no secret that Thanksgiving—with endless chitchat about food and overeating—can be a trigger for conversations about body image. But Sarah Michelle Gellar’s recent Instagram post is a perfect illustration of how easy it is for that conversation to turn toxic.
Earlier this week, the actress and cookbook author posted a series of lingerie-clad photos of herself with a caption many viewed as problematic: “I’m just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday #thanksgivingprep,” Gellar wrote alongside four shots from a 2007 Maxim photoshoot, US Weekly reported.
Not surprisingly, the post immediately triggered a controversy, dividing commenters into two very vocal camps.
In the first, many users were quick to point out the problematic message behind the joke. “Usually love your posts but I’m seriously against ‘thinspiration.’ It’s a core of most eating disorders,” one user pointed out. “Projecting the idea that we should restrict ourselves from eating food to be skinny is a dangerous and damaging mindset which clearly plagues the minds of many, including celebrities as it’s pretty apparent here. It’s a hard truth to acknowledge. Nobody should ever feel guilty for eating food, period,” another user wrote.
But other commenters, including a few celebs, backed Gellar up, saying she shouldn’t have to apologize for being proud of her body. “@sarahmgellar is it weird if I pin these pics of you in my house too?” Tiffani Thiessen said.
To clear the air, Gellar issued an apology in the comments, a day after her original post. “It’s come to my attention that some people think I was ‘fat shaming’ with this post,” she wrote. “That could not be further from my intentions. I love Thanksgiving and unfortunately my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, and I tend to eat so much I make myself sick. This was a joking reminder to myself not to do that. I’m terribly sorry that people were offended by my attempt at humor. Any one that knows me, knows I would never intentionally ‘shame’ any one on any basis. I am a champion of all people.”
No matter your reaction to the post, the whole controversy brings up a super important point we should all remember today: Individual relationships with food can be complicated and hard to navigate. The bottom line is, you don’t have to be a certain size to love your body in lingerie (or any way) and no one should ever make you feel like you shouldn’t enjoy food—especially on Thanksgiving. Now excuse us while we go enjoy our Thanksgiving feasts.
Related stories:
If You’ve Ever Struggled with Body Image, Lili Reinhart Has a Message for You
Gigi Hadid to Everyone Shaming Her Weight: ‘I Will Not Further Explain the Way My Body Looks’