Ava Phillippe claps back at “bodyshaming” critics online — again.
“NBD but I just achieved a major milestone as a woman online,” 24-year-old Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon, wrote via TikTok on Saturday, May 4. In the video, Phillippe blasts Wonder Band’s cover of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” as she defiantly applies bright red lipstick all over her face.
“I saw 2 different strangers commenting on my body,” she continued. “The first said I should get on Oz*mpic because I’m too fat. The second accused me of starving myself because I’m too thin. My weight did not change in the time period between their comments. (& it wouldn’t be any of their business if it did!) It’s such bulls–t.”
She added, “No one deserves to be picked apart for what they look like. You don’t always know what someone’s gone through or what they struggle with. But no matter who you are … Your beauty exceeds superficial measures.”
@avaephillippe Pretty is as pretty does, babes…& bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior. 💋 #loveyouasyouare (P.S. I put “woman” because I see this type of thing happening disproportionately to young girls & women, but let me be clear; bodyshaming is toxic no matter who the subject is. We all deserve to feel safe & at peace in the vessel we live in.)
In the caption of the 41-second video, Phillippe noted, “Pretty is as pretty does, babes … & bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior. 💋,” quoting a lesson she learned from her mother. She added that she specified “woman” in her post because she “[sees] this type of thing happening disproportionately to young girls & women.” However, she clarified that “bodyshaming is toxic no matter who the subject is.”
She concluded, “We all deserve to feel safe & at peace in the vessel we live in.”
In an April interview with People, Phillippe opened up about the valuable lesson she learned from Witherspoon.
“A big saying in the South, especially amongst women is ‘Pretty is as pretty does,’” she said on April 20. “Every time that comes up in my brain or I see people being critical of others online for their appearance, I just always think, you’re only as beautiful as you treat other people. I think that you glow from within when you’re a good person.”
Phillippe previously defended herself — and her body — via TikTok from “strangers online” on Saturday after she received a wave of criticism over her tattoos. “When strangers online say they hate my tattoos… 🤷🏼♀️ #wronggirl #sorrynotsorry,” she captioned the video, wherein she showed off the dainty tattoos on her arms.
Phillippe debuted her body art at a Tiffany & Co. Celebration she attended with Witherspoon in Beverly Hills on April 25. (Witherspoon shares Ava and son Deacon, 20, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. She also shares son Tennessee, 11, with ex-husband Jim Toth.)
