Parenting

Jameela Jamil Points Out What's REALLY Behind All That Celebrity Beauty

by Julie Scagell
Image via Gary Gershoff/Getty Images/Instagram/Jameela Jamil

It may seem obvious but sometimes you still need to point it out

It can be hard sometimes not to compare ourselves to others, especially celebrities. They always seem so put together, even their “no makeup” selfies where they claim to be a mess look picture perfect. Actress, activist, and all-around badass Jameela Jamil wants to make sure people know it’s not only futile to do so, but it’s also not a remotely fair comparison.

“‘How does she look so young?’ Asks the single mother of three, holding down 2 jobs, as she gazes at a magazine, looking at a famous actress her age,” Jamil captioned on Instagram. “She looks so young because she doesn’t do SHIT compared to you and gets way more sleep. (And her magazine covers are photoshopped) GIVE yourselves a break.”

Jamil then laid out all the reasons celebrities look as young and refreshed as they do — money. “Let’s get real about money for a second,” she wrote. “Because money is the reason most people don’t look as thin and young as celebrities.”

It’s true. Money gives people access to things most of us could only dream of. “These people have trainers, chefs, access to the best organic food, they have the best beauticians, staff to help them do everything, a MUCH less stressful life, the best doctors, many have talented surgeons, they have makeup artists, and hair stylists,” Jamil said.

The Good Place star isn’t one to shy away from telling it like it is. She started the “I Weigh” movement after being sick of women feeling like their worth was tied to a number on the scale. “This post of mine started a mad wave of amazing women posting their own back to me in our revolution against shame and self-hatred over our looks, perpetuated by the media,” she said, asking women to realize their flaws, strengths, and hopes for the future are what make us, not how much we weigh.

She’s also been quick to call out celebrities who feed into these insecurities or lie to the public about how they look the way they do. Case in point, Jamil asked Khloe Kardashian to stop pushing unhealthy weight loss products online. “If you’re too irresponsible to a) own up to the fact that you have a personal trainer, nutritionist, probable chef and a surgeon to achieve your aesthetic, rather than this laxative product … and b) tell them the side effects of this non-FDA-approved product, that most doctors are saying [isn’t] healthy … then I guess I have to,” she said of Kardashian.

Comparing yourself to anyone steals joy, and when it’s to a celebrity who has the money to “fix” just about anything they want, it’s even more disheartening. It’s hard enough for grown adults to not get sucked in, imagine how hard it is for young girls who are not yet fully formed into strong, independent women to do so. “You are being set up for a fall with this comparison porn culture. Swerve the lies and just do you,” Jamil concluded.

Amen to that.