Sasha Pieterse, 20, stars in "Pretty Little Liars" as Alison DiLaurentis, Rosewood High's English teacher. She started to notice that she was beginning to gain weight rapidly and so did her fans on social media. The main reason it was so noticeable was because of how much she had changed between each season of "Pretty Little Liars," and some fans bullied her about it. That is the backstory for this incredible, talented and beautiful actress. In my opinion, she is still beautiful, and weight should not matter at all! Sasha was 13 when she starred in the pilot episode and 20 in the seventh season, so she has grown up in front of the cameras of this teen drama. My main frustration is that she was cyber bullied by fans of hers, which is just unreal.
After reading articles about this situation, I decided I needed to say something, not only because this is a huge issue, but also since I struggle with my weight, too. Pieterse is the youngest actresses of the five leading ladies of "Pretty Little Liars," which means I relate to her more, especially since I am her age. I realize that she, too, deals with issues like me, so her speaking up about body shaming hits home for me. No, I have not been body shamed, but I understand how it can make you question your self worth on a daily basics. Instead of getting revenge on her bullies, she shared love and encouraged others to have self-love.
Two articles stuck out to me as I have read about this story, here are highlighted points from each.
"While her character Alison DiLaurentis is busy on screen standing up to A alongside the other Pretty Little Liars, actress Sasha Pieterse is standing up to body shamers."
"Sasha recently delivered a powerful message on Twitter, documenting her journey to self love after a hormone imbalance caused her to gain weight. Not only does Sasha talk about her own struggles, but she calls out the societal expectations that have made her weight gain a particular struggle for her."
Here is her Twitter post (@SashaaPieterse) also on Instagram (sashapieterse27) where she encouraged her followers/fans to have self-love.
Instead of tearing each other down, Sasha encouraged us to focus on learning to love ourselves. “We’ve all heard our parents tell us to treat people the way you want to be treated, but I think often we don’t treat ourselves the way we should be treated,” she wrote. “I decided at that point to love myself the way I am right now. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to improve myself, it means that I am making a point to love myself at every stage and chapter of my life." To read the full post, go to Sasha's Twitter or Instagram.
"'Pretty Little Liars' Star Sasha Pieterse Calls Out Her Body Shamers — Read Her Inspiring Post!"
"I've always struggled with my weight and in my early teens I realized health was very important," she wrote. "My whole mindset and lifestyle changed for the better and I was really happy and confident in my body and the way I looked. There then became a point where my body changed dramatically. Being in my line of work meant that all those changes were documented. There was major backlash on social media. Sasha went on to detail the bullying she experienced, from name calling to even being asked if she was pregnant."
With all the hate in the world right now, I think that Sasha's response to her bullies was very respectful and correct. She chose to spread love on social media instead of sending hate towards the bullies.
The hormone imbalance can be very hard to go through, no matter what it happens to involve. Personally, I have hypothyroidism, which makes losing weight a battle and easier to gain weight. But, like Sasha, I chose to love myself instead of hate what I look like. Looks should not matter and neither should weight, but sadly that is the case no matter who you are or what line of work you are in at the time.
Also, I think her fans should not be cyber bullying her because we all go through this as we grow up and change.
Lastly, do not judge others, especially if you do not know the whole story. Everyone gains and loses weight daily, so before you send hate, think about how you might affect that person.
