Hell hath no fury: The Good Place star Jameela Jamil eviscerates Avon for body-shaming women
Actor and body positivity activist Jameela Jamil has taken cosmetics brand Avon to task over its apparent tone-deaf advertising campaign for cellulite cream, which she argues is tantamount to bullying.
The Good Place actor blasted the company for “shaming women about age, gravity, and cellulite. They’re inevitable, completely normal things.”
And yet EVERYONE has dimples on their thighs, I do, you do, and the CLOWNS at @Avon_UK certainly do. Stop shaming women about age, gravity and cellulite. They’re inevitable, completely normal things. To make us fear them and try to “fix”them, is to literally set us up for failure pic.twitter.com/78kqu3nHeE
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) January 19, 2019
The 32-year-old TV presenter-turned-actress decried Avon’s apparent hijacking of the so-called ‘body positivity’ movement with a call to arms addressing women directly, saying: “You are constantly being manipulated to self-hate.”
Avon’s Body Proof line of skincare was designed to “reduce cellulite, firm skin, and soften stretch marks.”
Jamil’s initial post was liked almost 60,000 times and shared nearly 10,000 times, receiving kudos and positive messages of support from many.
We're trained to be in constant state of improvement.
— Bigdebbiesnacks (@bigdebbiesnacks) January 20, 2019
This!! Even after losing over 100 lbs, I'm still being told, "you need a push up bra" or "you need a girdle, tummy control, etc--" by my own family. I'm tired. I've already worked so hard and yet it's not enough for anyone. I have to strive to be better, prettier, perfect.
— Pretty Boy Swag (@dreamychoux) January 20, 2019
I am 58 today I have scars, stretch marks and I have dimples on my thighs and so does every human I have EVER seen at a beach or in a bed or backstage - stop making us feel like we are somehow damaged and ONLY you can help us rub away the shame - I’ll never buy this shite pic.twitter.com/EBt1U1vTC3
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) January 20, 2019
God, imagine what the men losing their shit at Gillette would do if *MOST* of the ads targeted to them were about how terrible their bodies, personalities, relationships, attributes, houses, children, etcetera were, like women’s ads are.
— Maggie Holt (@magpepper) January 19, 2019
Thank you Jameel. My body is riddled with cellulite due to prednisone and anti rejection drugs that redistribute fat onsurface of skin. So grateful to my donor for my lovely new working heart and lungs. Prefer to be alive with cellulite than dead because of a rare disease.
— lori webber (@heartembrace) January 20, 2019
Fixed it pic.twitter.com/TggpNnuBdZ
— kels (@abkelseybrooks) January 19, 2019
Her online activism appears to have worked, as the company quickly issued a public apology to save face.
Hi Jameela, we completely understand where you’re coming from. We realize that we missed the mark with this messaging. We have removed this messaging from all future marketing materials. We fully support our community in loving their bodies and feel confident in their own skin.
— Avon (@AvonInsider) January 19, 2019
We hear you and we apologize. We messed up on our Smooth Moves Naked Proof messaging. We want to let you know that we are working diligently to remove this messaging from our marketing materials moving forward. We're on it. We love our community of women. pic.twitter.com/lUyK3EyfAy
— Avon (@AvonInsider) January 20, 2019
Jamil went on to claim that her timeline is filled with women who are “afraid to be naked in front of lovers” or “to wear a swimsuit,” further claiming that such advertising practices rob women of their self-esteem. She has criticized several other advertising campaigns in a similar fashion before, including the (ab)use of photoshop to alter models’ appearance.
The actor runs the i_weigh Instagram account, which promotes body positivity and boasts over 300,000 followers, many of whom share their stories and discuss the weight of their achievements in life rather than their body weight.
However, not everyone was pleased with the actor’s take on the advertising campaign, with some drawing comparisons with Gillette’s recent controversial ad. Others are pointing out that women aren’t a monolith and some may actually want these products.
😭So many snowflakes...
— VikingTwin (@mntwindan) January 20, 2019
I'm not sure I understand the problem, they're a cosmetics company, how is this different to make up? Some people want to cover blemishes on their face, others don't want cellulite anymore.
— Kat (@Obsidianwings87) January 20, 2019
but It's ok for Gillette to shame men in their New advert
— conor mallon (@conormallon10) January 20, 2019
Sorry, I see nothing wrong with this add. Some women want products to help with their dreaded cellulite! Don't like it, don't watch!
— Cathie Garland (@cathiegarland) January 20, 2019
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