Nina Agdal is a model that has been photographed for Sports Illustrated, Victoria's Secret and many other companies. Recently she has made headlines by taking a step and speaking out, ready to change the modeling industry.
Body shaming has been an issue for many years, but with social media, the issue remains more current than ever. Nina Agdal had been asked to do a cover shoot from Venice Fort Lauderdale magazine and was eventually cut from the cover because of her size.
After a taking a year off, Agdal said that her agent “received an unapologetic email concluding they would not run my cover/story because it ‘did not reflect well on my talent’ and ‘did not fit their market,’ the publisher claimed my look deviated from my portfolio and that I did not fit into the (sample size) samples, which is completely false.”
When Nina Agdal appeared on Megyn Kelly Today, Kelly read a statement from Venice Fort Lauderdale which went against Agdal’s post on the situation. The statement read:
“We think Nina Agdal is a beautiful and extremely talented model. That is why she was the focus of a 10-page story published in our Winter issue. Regarding the cover, while the images from the shoot were lovely, they did not yield one that we felt worked as the print cover. To clarify our choice, it had nothing to do with how Ms. Agdal looks in a bathing suit — her physique is enviable by any criteria. We wished to use an image from that shoot for our digital cover (the cover promoted on our website) but her agent declined. Further, when we made the decision to run the feature without the cover, we suggested doing another story with a possible cover for 2018, where Nina would be both model and subject, giving her a platform to discuss her experiences, interests and the causes she champions. This was communicated to her agent in writing.”
After this statement was read, Megyn Kelly confirmed that she had seen the email from the magazine telling Agdal that “We would love to revisit the possibility of a printed cover when she is back in top shape.” The model spoke about how she is over body shaming that is within the model industry. Agdal expressed that,
“I can't take this anymore. I got to stand up for all the girls and women out there because enough is enough. I can't be a part of this big lie.”
Women and young girls everywhere are constantly looking on social media and at models playing the comparison game. It is a problem that most girls deal with on a regular basis, I know I definitely do. So for magazines and companies to promote ‘unrealistic’ body images, it just adds to the doubt and shame women can feel about themselves. All bodies are different and we need to see more of that within the media. It is important to promote a healthy image to the media, no matter what size that may be. We need more women like Nina Agdal speaking out for all women and young girls out there, model or not.
